The Triassic Seas
from the Dinosaur Collector
Nothosaurs
Nothosaurs were Triassic marine reptiles that averaged about 10 ft in length, with a long body and tail. The feet were paddle-like, and are known to have been webbed in life. The front legs were stronger but the legs do not seem to have been string enough to support them on land. Fossils are found in Europe and China.
update 121110
More Diorama and pages
The Early to Late Triassic Nothosaurus (10 feet long) was an earlier smaller version of the plesiosaurs of the Jurassic seas. The traditional view was nothosaurs lived a life similar to today’s seals.
Above are Nothosaurus and Placodus from Play Vision and Nothosaurus from Starlux.
Nothosaur-like reptiles were in turn ancestral to the more completely marine plesiosaurs, which replaced them at the end of the Triassic period. The balance of opinon seems to be that they may not have been capable of moving on land.
Safari Ltd Nothosaurus
next To theTriassic Ichthyosaurs
Previous back to Triassic Placodonts
Click to Site A for Dinosaur Collector Home Page