Pistosaurus

Classification

Sauropterygia > Eosauropterygia > Eusauropterygia > Pistosauria

P. longaevus

Species synonyms -'P. grandaevus'

Material

Type material: Un-catalogued, Oberfränkisches Erdgeschichliches Museum, Bayreuth, skull.

Distribution

Lower Meißner Formation, Upper Anisian (Upper Muschelkalk) (atavus through to postspinosus biozone), Middle Triassic, Lainecker Hohenzug, east of Bayreuth, Southern Germany.

Images

Reconstruction of the skeleton of P. longaevus

Skull of P. longaevus

Discussion

The femur is 17.8 cm so the whole animal had a total length perhaps 2m. approx. Some authors have considered Pistosaurus as a member of the Plesiosauria (e.g. White, 1940 p.459). Rieppel (2000) presents a concise summary of the unusual history of this genus.