Elasmosaurus

O Elasmossauro (*Elasmosaurus platyurus*) cujo nome significa elasmos "placa fina" em referências as placas pélvicas finas e sauro "lagarto", viveu há aproximadamente 80,5 milhões de anos atrás durante o período Cretáceo na região central da América do Norte.

    Esta espécie não era um dinossauro, mas sim, um réptil marinho do grupo dos plesiossauros (Ordem Plesiosauria). O seu aspecto poderia ser descrito como o de uma gigantesca serpente unida ao corpo de uma tartaruga marinha sem casco. Seu pescoço era enorme, possuía o comprimento maior do que todo o restante do corpo, isto é, quase 8 metros de comprimento. O corpo todo media 14 metros de comprimento. O Elasmossauro provavelmente se arrastava em praias para por seus ovos em ninhos pouco profundos como as tartarugas marinhas fazem hoje em dia.

**Dados do Plesiossauro:**

**Nome:**Elasmossauro

**Nome Científico:** *Elasmosaurus platyurus*

**Época:** Cretáceo

**Local onde viveu:** América do Norte

**Peso:** Cerca de 2,2 toneladas

**Tamanho:** 14 metros de comprimento

**Alimentação:** Carnívora

## English dub

***Elasmosaurus*** (/ɪˌlæzməˈsɔːrəs, -moʊ-/;) is a genus of plesiosaur that lived in North America during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, about 80.5 million years ago. The first specimen was discovered in 1867 near Fort Wallace, Kansas, US, and was sent to the American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, who named it ***E. platyurus*** in 1868. The generic name means "thin-plate reptile", and the specific name means "flat-tailed". Cope originally reconstructed the skeleton of *Elasmosaurus* with the skull at the end of the tail, an error which was made light of by the paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, and became part of their "Bone Wars" rivalry. Only one incomplete *Elasmosaurus* skeleton is definitely known, consisting of a fragmentary skull, the spine, and the pectoral and pelvic girdles, and a single species is recognized today; other species are now considered invalid or have been moved to other genera.

Measuring 10.3 meters (34 ft) long, *Elasmosaurus* would have had a streamlined body with paddle-like limbs, a short tail, a small head, and an extremely long neck. The neck alone was around 7.1 meters (23 ft) long. Along with its relative *Albertonectes*, it was one of the longest-necked animals to have lived, with the second largest number of neck vertebrae known, 72, 4 less than *Albertonectes*. The skull would have been slender and triangular, with large, fang-like teeth at the front, and smaller teeth towards the back. It had six teeth in each premaxilla of the upper jaw, and may have had 14 teeth in the maxilla and 19 in the dentary of the lower jaw. Most of the neck vertebrae were compressed sideways, and bore a longitudinal crest or keel along the sides.

The family Elasmosauridae was based on the genus *Elasmosaurus*, the first recognized member of this group of long-necked plesiosaurs. Elasmosaurids were well adapted for aquatic life, and used their flippers for swimming. Contrary to earlier depictions, their necks were not very flexible, and could not be held high above the water surface. It is unknown what their long necks were used for, but they may have had a function in feeding. Elasmosaurids probably ate small fish and marine invertebrates, seizing them with their long teeth, and may have used gastroliths (stomach stones) to help digest their food. *Elasmosaurus* is known from the Pierre Shale formation, which represents marine deposits from the Western Interior Seaway.