Nothosaurus Munster, 1834
Classification
Sauropterygia > Eosauropterygia > Eusauropterygia > Nothosauroidea > Nothosauria >Nothosauridae
Synonyms
'Conchiosaurus', 'Dracosaurus', 'Opeosaurus', 'Kolposaurus', 'Oligolycus', 'Paranothosaurus', 'Elmosaurus'.
N. mirabilis Munster, 1834 (Type species)
Material
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Distribution
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Images
Nothosaurus sp., restoration by Adam Procházka in the Staaliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe. Photograph courtesy of S. M. Clabby.
Another restoration of Nothosaurus, this one in the Löwentor-Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. Notice the fossil skeleton under the head in the third photograph. Photos, including title image above, courtecy of Markus Felix Bühler (many thanks 'Sordes').
Nothosaurus sp. vertebra. Staaliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe. Photograph Courtesy of S. M. Clabby.
Discussion
Nothosaurus is the name-bearing genus for the clade Nothosauria and for the family Nothosauridae. Niche partitioning has been suggested to explain the mutual existence of a variety of species of Nothosaurus in the same environmental setting. All species of Nothosaurus are medium to large sized eusauropterygians diagnosed by the following characters (Rieppel, 1994):