Jurassic Depths

Not a Dinosaur A very long time ago, dinosaurs lived on land. Amazing animals also lived in the sea. One of these animals was called a Plesiosaurus (Ple-see-o-sor-us). The Plesiosaurus was a hunter. It hunted and ate other animals. They swam using their four big paddles. Plesiosaurus used their long neck to steer through the water. Only animals that lived on the land are called dinosaurs. Animals that lived in the ocean are called marine reptiles. A marine reptile is a reptile that lives in the sea.

This is a picture of a belemnite (bel-em-nite). This is one of the animals that Plesiosaurus ate.

Plesiosaurus: (plesios = ‘near to’ | sauros = ‘lizard’ )

What was it? Marine Reptile

When was it alive? A very long time ago

How big was it? About 3 metres long (as long as a minibus)

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Jurassic Depths

Percy the Plesiosaur

There is a model of a plesiosaur skeleton at Manchester Museum. It was found in North Yorkshire in England. It was found on a class trip. The bones were all underground. It took days to dig the bones out of the ground. The weather was very bad. It was hard work. They decided to call the skeleton Percy. Percy was taken to Manchester in three big parts. Percy is very old (about 180 million years old). Percy has most of his bones. Most Plesiosaurus skeletons are missing bones. People come from all over the world to learn about Percy.

Fossils and Dinosaurs www.dinosaurs.lgfl.net   ©LGfL