Plesiosaurs

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Pronounced – Plees-ee-oh-saw
Meaning of name – ‘Near-lizard’
Group – Reptile
Age – Lower Jurassic, around 195 million years old

These long necked marine reptiles were active predators in the Jurassic seas. They had powerful paddle ‘like’ limbs, which allowed them to swim through the water. Plesiosaurs here at Charmouth are some of the earliest well preserved specimens in the world. The first ever complete plesiosaur was found at Lyme Regis in 1824 by Mary Anning.

For more detailed information about these amazing creatures please visit The Plesiosaur Directory

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Vertebra

Image 1 of 4

This is a single backbone from a plesiosaur that was found by local collector Tony Gill. The shape this backbone is very distinct from those of ichthyosaurs, which are more commonly found here.