Discovery of a nearly intact 244-million-year-old prehistoric aquatic moпѕteг fossil.

A new ѕрeсіeѕ of aquatic reptile belonging to an entirely new genus of pachypleurosaur, one of the world’s most ancient groups of “seafaring dinosaurs,” has been discovered fully preserved in Yunnan, China.

The creature has been named Honghesaurus longicaudalis and lived around 244 million years ago, during the Early Triassic period, which marked the emergence of various dinosaur ѕрeсіeѕ.

Similar to other marine reptiles of the Early Triassic, this aquatic creature had a relatively small body, with a total length of just 47 cm. Other pachypleurosaurs found globally are also generally not longer than half a meter.

Its exceptionally well-preserved fossilized ѕkeɩetoп was recovered in 2021 from the Guanling Formation marine sediments in Luoping, Yunnan, China. This region is renowned for its exceptional preservation of various invertebrates, fish, marine reptiles, ancient plants, and more.

The specimen was studied by a team of paleontologists led by Professor Guang-Hui Xu from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, which helped reconstruct a streamlined body with a remarkably long tail and relatively elongated neck, though overall resembling the later long-bodied marine lizards.

The creature also had a more pointed snout compared to other pachypleurosaurs. Its body shape indicates that it swam using the undulating motion of its body and tail.

Most notably, all 121 vertebrae of its spine were preserved intact, making this Yunnan aquatic reptile one of the best-preserved marine reptile specimens globally.

This study has been recently published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.