Corosaurus

Co-roe-sore-us.
Published on

John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

Cite Feedback Print

Name

Corosaurus ‭(‬Coro lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Co-roe-sore-us.

Named By

Ermine Cowles Case‭ ‬-‭ ‬1936.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Pistosauroidea,‭ ‬Corosauridae.

Diet

Piscivore/Carnivore.

Species

C.‭ ‬alcovensis‭

Size

Around‭ ‬1‭ ‬meter long.

Known locations

USA,‭ ‬Wyoming‭ ‬-‭ ‬Alcova Limestone Formation.

Time Period

Anisian of the Triassic.

Fossil representation

Several individuals.

In Depth

       Originally described as a nothosaur,‭ ‬Corosaurus is now identified as a pistosaurid,‭ ‬a kind of sauropterygian reptile that is related to but separate to the true nothosaurs.‭ ‬The pistosauroids are established around the type genus pistosaurus,‭ ‬and it may have been these kinds of marine reptiles that were actually ancestral to the plesiosaurs that would begin to appear around the late Triassic and early Jurassic.‭

       Fossils of Corosaurus have been dated to be around‭ ‬245-247‭ ‬million years old,‭ ‬which firmly places them within the early Anisian stage of the mid Triassic.‭ ‬The small size of Corosaurus indicates that members of the genus were probably predators of smaller marine organisms along the lines of fish.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A nothosaur from the Triassic of Wyoming‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ermine Cowles Case‭ ‬-‭ ‬1936. -‭ ‬Corosaurus alcovensis Case and the phylogenetic interrelationships of Triassic stem-group Sauropterygia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Olivier Rieppel‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998. -‭ ‬Anatomy and Relationships of Corosaurus alcovensis‭ (‬Diapsida:‭ ‬Sauropterygia‭) ‬and the Triassic Alcova Limestone of Wyoming‭ ‬-‭ ‬Glenn William Storrs‭ ‬-1991.- Corosaurus alcovensis Case and the phylogenetic interrelationships of Triassic stem-group Sauropterygia. – Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 124 (1): 1–41. – Olivier Rieppel – 1998.

Adopt A Species
prehistoric-wildlife new logo

Love this species?

Adopt it today!

(UPDATED!)

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

Abelisaurus