New Nothosaurus fossil in museum

19 April 2010.

According to Naturalis museum in Leiden, the Netherlands, a new reptile fossil has been added to their collection.

It is the oldest reptile fossil ever discovered in the Netherlands, a skull of Nothosaurus winkelhorsti; about 240 million years old, from the Triassic.

It was discovered in 1990 in Winterswijk in the eastern Netherlands. It is a primitive Nothosaurus species, three times smaller than later representatives of those swimming reptiles.

Also from the Triassic: the Atopodentatus unicus (approximately meaning “unique disturbingly weird-toothed”), classified as a sauropterygian (best-known for its plesiosaurs and nothosaurs). Atopodentatus had semi-aquatic adaptations but retained strong hips and legs: here.

Triassic aetosaurs: here. And here.

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