Cryptoclidus Skeletal!

Yes, I made a full skeletal of a Plesiosaur! I always admired these things.. I don't really know why, I just love 'em. Gotta appreciate the swimmy noodle boys don't we?

The History of Cryptoclidus (as a genus)

Cryptoclidus, often mispelled as "Cryptocleidus" was a genus of Plesiosaurid Sauropterygian from the Middle Jurassic of France, the UK and Cuba. It is a pretty stereotypical plesiosaur, with its long neck, small head, short tail and two sets of flippers all being present. The type species, C.eurymerus was described by Philips (couldn't find his full name) in 1871, when Paleontology was 49 years old. We should also note that at that time we thought that plesiosaurs were amphibious creatures with a neck as flexible as a noodle, a view which in my opinion was greately inspired by religious texts or/and mythology and folklore. The genus has one synonym, Apractocleidus, which turned out to be an eldery C.eurymerus.

An old, outdated reconstruction of a plesiosaur

Cryptoclidus as an animal

An adult cryptoclidus would average 6-8 meters in lenght. Their body was fat, with a neck that couldn't be rotated much and a short   tail. These plesiosaurs fed in fish, mollusks and possibly smaller marine reptiles. Evidence suggests that these magnificent creatures along with their relatives were warm-blooded.

Thank You For Reading!

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Bibliography and Sources

Wikipedia

-Aggelos Mantos