Jurassic Depths - Fossils and Dinosaursdinosaurs.lgfl.org.uk/documents/Inclusion/Jurassic...
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Not a Dinosaur When we think of prehistoric animals we almost always imagine a T-rex or maybe a Velociraptor. But what about the amazing animals that swam in the seas millions of years ago? They would have been just as impressive and just as deadly. The Plesiosaurus was a predator. They hunted and ate other fish and animals in the Jurassic seas. They ate ammonites, fish and belemnites. They swam using their four paddles. They used their long neck to steer through the water. Remember, only animals that lived on the land should be called dinosaurs! Reptiles that lived in the ocean are called marine reptiles. Jurassic Depths First known record of a plesiosaur, 1719 Plesiosaurus: (plesios = ‘near to’ | sauros = ‘lizard’ ) What was it? Marine Reptile When was it alive? A very long time ago (between 200 and 175 million years) How big was it? About 3 metres long This is a picture of a belemnite (bel-em-nite). Belemnites were one of the sources of food for the Plesiosaurus. Does it look familiar to you? © LGfL www.dinosaurs.lgfl.net Fossils and Dinosaurs
Transcript of Jurassic Depths - Fossils and Dinosaursdinosaurs.lgfl.org.uk/documents/Inclusion/Jurassic...
Not a DinosaurWhen we think of prehistoric animals we almost always imagine a T-rex or maybe a Velociraptor. But what about the amazing animals that swam in the seas millions of years ago? They would have been just as impressive and just as deadly.
The Plesiosaurus was a predator. They hunted and ate other fish and animals in the Jurassic seas. They ate ammonites, fish and belemnites. They swam using their four paddles. They used their long neck to steer through the water.
Remember, only animals that lived on the land should be called dinosaurs! Reptiles that lived in the ocean are called marine reptiles.
Jurassic Depths
First known record of a plesiosaur, 1719
Plesiosaurus: (plesios = ‘near to’ | sauros = ‘lizard’ )
What was it? Marine Reptile
When was it alive? A very long time ago (between 200 and 175 million years)
How big was it? About 3 metres long
This is a picture of a belemnite (bel-em-nite). Belemnites were one of the sources of food for the Plesiosaurus. Does it look familiar to you?
© LGfL www.dinosaurs.lgfl.net Fossils and Dinosaurs
Jurassic Depths
OAR
Percy the Plesiosaur
The Plesiosaur on display in Manchester Museum is called Percy. Percy was uncovered in North Yorkshire. He was discovered by a geologist called Fred Broadhurst and his students. They were on a geology field trip in 1960. They worked for days in bad weather to get the fossil remains.
Percy was taken to Manchester in three big sections. The remains are 180 million years old. They are one of the most complete Plesiosaur fossils ever discovered. Paleontologists come from all over the world to visit and study Percy.
© LGfL www.dinosaurs.lgfl.net Fossils and Dinosaurs
