Cryptoclidus was a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile. It was not a dinosaur, though it coexisted with many dinosaurs. Cryptoclidus lived during the Mid Jurassic. The first Cryptoclidus fossil was discovered in 1871.
Quick facts about Cryptoclidus:
- Existed from 166.1 million years ago to 145 million years ago
- Lived in a marine environment
- Was a carnivore
- Reproduced by live birth
- 17 different specimens have been found by paleontologists
All the Cryptoclidus illustrations below were collected from the internet. Enjoy and explore:
Cryptoclidus was described by the following scientific paper(s):
- G. von Arthaber. 1906. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Organisation und der Anpassungserscheinungen des genus Metriorhynchus. Beiträge zur Paläontologie und Geologie Österreich-Ungarns und des Orients 19(4):287-320
- J. Phillips. 1871. Geology of Oxford and the Valley of the Thames. Clarendon Press, Oxford
- D. M. Martill. 1986. The stratigraphic distribution and preservation of fossil vertebrates in the Oxford Clay of England. Mercian Geologist 10(3):161-186
