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Post by Anapsids on Oct 17, 2008 7:38:16 GMT
Hi. A few questions for you guys from a dinosaur illiterate. me ;D Does Tanystropheus relate to plesiosaurs? Ancestor of sort?  Are mosasaurs belong to pliosaurs group? I used to think they are. But after some reading I noticed that information on plesiosaurs made no mention on mosasaurs and vice versa. And if they are not pliosaurs and not plesiosaurs, where did they come from? |
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Post by Tyrannax on Oct 17, 2008 8:25:31 GMT
No, Tanystropheus doesn't belong to the plesiosaurid group.  It actually belongs to a group of reptiles called the Archosaurs. These reptiles are related to crocodiles. Mosasaurus, yes, are a seperate group of animals that are not found under the pliosaur group. They are extremely closely related to lizards. Even more so then other marine reptiles. Just as all ancient reptiles, they evolved from land-dwelling reptiles that looked similar to monitor lizards today. Over time they took to the seas and developed claw-like flippers. I hope this helps dude!  |
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Post by Dinotoyforum on Oct 17, 2008 9:05:51 GMT
*puts hand in the air* oooo oooo I know this one ooo ooo. ;D
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Post by Anapsids on Oct 17, 2008 13:18:42 GMT
Thanks. I must have mixed Tanystropheus with the notosaurs; they look so similar. Here's some more questions. How did plesiosaurs swim with four flippers? I believed an episode in WWD says they weren't fast swimmer. But think about this; both Sea turtles and penguins use only two flippers. Yet turtles are not very fast, but penguins are torpedoed fast. And did mosasaurs swim like a sea snake and crocs, with comparably speed?
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Post by Dinotoyforum on Oct 17, 2008 13:46:36 GMT
Here is a page outlining the differing hypotheses of plesiosaur locomotion, with animations: www.plesiosauria.com/locomotion.htmlThe answer is up in the air. Mosasaurs did swim with a laterally undulating motion, although more derived forms actually developed an ichthyosaur-like shape so the movement was increasingly restricted to the tail in these forms. |
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Post by tomhet on Oct 17, 2008 16:51:18 GMT
Hey A., your new avatar appears to be seizing. I like it  |
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Post by Tyrannax on Oct 17, 2008 21:06:02 GMT
Thanks. I must have mixed Tanystropheus with the notosaurs; they look so similar. Here's some more questions. How did plesiosaurs swim with four flippers? I believed an episode in WWD says they weren't fast swimmer. But think about this; both Sea turtles and penguins use only two flippers. Yet turtles are not very fast, but penguins are torpedoed fast. And did mosasaurs swim like a sea snake and crocs, with comparably speed? No problem! |
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Post by Anapsids on Oct 18, 2008 1:56:43 GMT
Here is a page outlining the differing hypotheses of plesiosaur locomotion, with animations: www.plesiosauria.com/locomotion.htmlThe answer is up in the air. Mosasaurs did swim with a laterally undulating motion, although more derived forms actually developed an ichthyosaur-like shape so the movement was increasingly restricted to the tail in these forms. The site's very informative. Have someone ever make a plesiosaur robot, and apply these different swimming method to see which one is fastest? Also I didn't see anyone proposed that they could swim like a dog (front left-hind right and front right-hind left). Is it so impossible that noone mentioned it? |
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Post by Dinotoyforum on Oct 18, 2008 12:05:35 GMT
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Post by stoneage on Oct 18, 2008 21:41:20 GMT
Thanks for sharing that with us!
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Post by Anapsids on Oct 19, 2008 4:59:11 GMT
This one is also very interesting. Swimming mechanics, too complicated to me but informative. books.google.co.th/books?id=UuuPLIxY1cwC&pg=PA283&lpg=PA283&dq=plesiosaurIt has the same conclusion that plesiosaurs are not fast or efficient swimmer, but can reach top speed quickly. However it dosen't use 2 versus 4 flippers comparison, but using the drag-based versus lift-based swimming instead. |
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Post by Anapsids on Oct 21, 2008 3:24:28 GMT
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Post by Dinotoyforum on Oct 21, 2008 9:56:28 GMT
Thanks for the links - and cool new avatar pic |
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It actually belongs to a group of reptiles called the Archosaurs. These reptiles are related to crocodiles.
