A new ѕрeсіeѕ of marine reptile belonging to a completely new genus of pachypleurosaur, one of the world’s oldest “ancient sea moпѕteгѕ,” has been discovered intact in Yunnan, China.
The creature is named Honghesaurus longicaudalis and lived approximately 244 million years ago, during the Early Triassic period, which was the first epoch witnessing the emergence of dinosaurs.
Similar to other marine reptiles of the Early Triassic, this marine reptile is relatively small in size, with a total body length of only 47 cm. Other pachypleurosaurs found around the world have generally not exceeded half a meter in length.
Its remarkably well-preserved complete fossil ѕkeɩetoп was ᴜпeагtһed in 2021 from the marine sediments of the Guanling Formation in Lò Tây, Yunnan – China, an area renowned for preserving a wide array of exceptionally preserved invertebrates, fish, marine reptiles, ancient plants, and more.
The specimen was studied by a research team led by Professor Guang-Hui Xu from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, providing insight into a sleek body with an extraordinarily long tail and a relatively long neck, resembling the later serpentiform lizards. The creature also possesses a more pointed snout compared to other pachypleurosaurs. Its body shape indicates it swam through undulating movements of its body and tail.
Most notably, all 121 vertebrae of the specimen were exceptionally well-preserved, making the new marine reptile from Yunnan one of the best-preserved samples of marine reptiles in the world.
The research has been published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.