Thalattosaurus borealis
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Thalattosaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic, 235.0–221.5 Ma |
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| Restoration of Thalattosaurus alexandrae | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Thalattosauria |
| Family: | †Thalattosauridae |
| Genus: | †Thalattosaurus |
| Type species | |
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†T. alexandrae Merriam, 1904 |
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| Species | |
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Thalattosaurus (pron.:"tha-la-to-SORE-us") meaning "ocean lizard" is an extinct genus of marine reptile in the family Thalattosauridae. They are aquatic diapsids that are known exclusively from the Triassic period. It was a shellfish-eating reptile with paddle-like limbs and a down-turned rostrum that was around 2 meters (7 ft) in length occurring in the Lower and Middle of British Columbia as well as Upper Triassic of California. It has gained notoriety as a result of studies on general diapsid phylogeny.
Although originally described as four distinct species by Merriam in 1905, one was proven to be T. alexandrae upon further inspection and another has a missing type specimen. Currently it is believed to include two known species; Thalattosauridae alexandrae and Thalattosauridae borealis.
In the summer of 1903 Annie Alexander led an expedition with Miss Edna Wemple, Eustace Furlong, Merriam John C, W.B. Esterly, and Mr. F.S. Ray to Shasta County where they discovered what they initially thought was Shastasaurus. One of the fossils were found in the North Fork of Squaw Creek (Triassic of the United States) in Shasta County, California. The environment it was found in was a shelly/skeletal limestone with a horizon composed largely of broken shells. It was estimated to be from the Hosselkus Limestone Formation from the Carnian period, dating from 235-221.5 million years ago). It was later collected by the University of California. The fossil found by Annie Alexander in 1903 had much of original bone in preorbital area gone, vomer was exposed, an incomplete mandible, two dorsal ribs and centra, and three articulated caudal vertebrae pressed against the vomer.
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