Tanystropheus

Common card · No. 214089

Tanystropheus (Ancient Greek: τανυ~ 'long' + στροφευς 'vertebra') is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile which lived during the Triassic Period in Europe, Asia, and North America. It is recognizable by its extremely elongated neck, longer than the torso and tail combined. The neck is composed of 13 vertebrae, strengthened by long cervical ribs. Tanystropheus is one of the most well-described non-archosauriform archosauromorphs (reptiles closer to dinosaurs and crocodilians than to lizards). It is known from numerous fossils, including nearly complete skeletons. Some species within the genus may have reached a total length of 6 meters (20 ft), making Tanystropheus the longest non-archosauriform archosauromorph as well. Tanystropheus is the namesake of the family Tanystropheidae, a clade collecting many long-necked Triassic archosauromorphs previously described as "protorosaurs" or "prolacertiforms". Tanystropheus contains at least three valid species as well as fossils which cannot...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Ghedoghedo, CC BY-SA 3.0