Name:
Attenborosaurus (Greek for "Attenborough’s lizard"); pronounced AT-ten-burrow-SORE-us
Habitat:
Shores of Western Europe
Historical Period:
Early Jurassic (195-190 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 16 feet long; weight unknown
Diet:
Fish
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Extremely long neck; few (but big) teeth
About Attenborosaurus:
As pliosaurs go, Attenborosaurus is an anomaly: most of these aquatic reptiles were characterized by their large heads and short necks, but Attenborosaurus (with its extremely long neck) looked more like a plesiosaur. This pliosaur also had limited, but massive, teeth, which it presumably used to chow down on fish during the early Jurassic .
When it was first discovered, Attenborosaurus was thought to be a species of Plesiosaurus. Long after the original fossil was destroyed in a bombing raid on England during World War II, a study of a plaster cast showed it to belong to its own genus, which was named after the British filmmaker Sir David Attenborough in 1993.
