Honghesaurus, a new species of Pachypleurosauroidae, has the longest tail known in the world and the earliest in China.
A fossil of a marine reptile called Honghesaurus dating back 244 million years is on display, May 9, 2022. (Photo: China News Service/Sun Zifa)
Line-drawing of the whole Honghesaurus. (Photo provided to China News Service)
Line-drawing of girdles, limbs and vertebrae of Honghesaurus. (Photo provided to China News Service)
Skull and mandible of Honghesaurus. (Photo provided to China News Service)
In a paper published May 6 in Science Advances, Dr. LI Chun, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, and his international team described two new specimens and revealed what was really going on--that "beak" is actually part of a hammerhead-shaped jaw apparatus, which it used to feed on plants on the ocean floor. It's the earliest known example of an herbivorous marine reptile.
Chinese scientists have discovered a fossil of a new species of marine reptiles known as a pachypleurosaur, dating back 244 million years, with the longest tail ever seen for its kind, indicating it may have been an exceptional swimmer.
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