Thalassomedon (from Greek, thalassa, "sea" and Greek, medon, "lord" or "ruler", meaning "sea lord") is a genus of plesiosaur, named by Welles in 1943.
| Thalassomedon Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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| Mounted cast of the type specimen, American Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Family: | †Elasmosauridae |
| Genus: | †Thalassomedon Welles, 1943 |
| Species: | †T. haningtoni
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| Binomial name | |
| †Thalassomedon haningtoni Welles, 1943
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| Synonyms | |
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Description edit
Thalassomedon is among the largest elasmosaurids, with the holotype measuring 11.3 metres (37 ft) long and having a mass in life of perhaps 3.4 metric tons (3.75 short tons).[1] The neck is also very long; it comprises at least 50 vertebrae and is about 5.5 m (18 ft) long--virtually half of the total length. The skull is 47 cm (18.5 in) long, with 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long teeth. The flippers were about 1.45 m (4.75 ft) long. Stones have been found in its stomach area leading some to theorize that they were used for ballast or digestion. If the latter, stomach action would cause the stones to help grind ingested food.
Discovery edit
This genus of plesiosaur lived in North America, approximately 95 million years ago - this places it during the Cenomanian stage. Its closest relative is Elasmosaurus, and both belong to the family Elasmosauridae. There are six specimens of varying states of preservation on display at various museums in the United States.
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Smith, Adam. (©2001; last updated July 2023). The Plesiosaur Directory. " Thalassomedon ". https://plesiosauria.com/directory/genera/thalassomedon/
