Lariosaurus is an extinctgenus of nothosaurid from the Middle Triassic (late Anisian to late Ladinian stage) of central and western Europe and China. With a complete specimen of L. xingyiensis measuring 70.5 cm (2.3 ft) long and L. hongguoensis possibly measuring up to 80 cm (2.6 ft) long,[1][2] it was one of the smallest known nothosaurs. First discovered at Perledo on the Lake Como in 1830, it was named in 1847 by Curioni, its name meaning "Lizard from Larius", the ancient name of the lake. This makes it one of the earliest studied reptiles from the Alps. It is known from an almost complete skeleton holotype and several other fairly complete fossils.
The nothosaur Eupodosaurus, initially classified as a stegosauriandinosaur, is now considered synonymous with Lariosaurus. In 1998 Rieppel synonymised Lariosaurus, Silvestrosaurus and Ceresiosaurus, but this is disputed by many authors and they are usually considered close relatives.[3]
Featuresedit
Lariosaurus valceresii life restoration in environmentJuvenile of Lariosaurus valceresii
For a nothosaur, Lariosaurus was primitive, possessing a short neck and small flippers in comparison to its relatives. This would have made it a relatively poor swimmer, and it is presumed to have spent much time on dry land, or hunting in shallows.[4] It had a large postorbital region of the skull with the temporal fossae noticeably larger than the orbits. The premaxillary and anterior dentary teeth are strongly elongated, like fangs, and could have acted as a 'fish trap'. The parietal and squamosal bones are elongated into a small occipital crest for the attachment of jaw muscles. The vertebrae are pachyostotic and have a low neural spine. Ribs are present from the neck all the way down to the sacrum, which has a cluster of four or five pairs. There are caudal ribs, but they are very small and not present beyond the 15th caudal vertebra. The gastral ribs are made up of multiple elements and form a sturdy kind of armour. The humerus has a weakly developed deltapectoral crest, and increases gradually in width towards the distal end. There is a distinct space between the radius and the more slender ulna. The fingers have more bones than the toes and clearly show how Lariosaurus was unique among nothosaurs because its front legs were adapted into paddles, while the back legs remained five-toed. The femur is more lightly built than the humerus but longer. There is less difference between tibia and fibula than between radius and ulna. [3] Further, based on skeletal findings of immature lariosaurs inside the adults, Lariosaurus is believed by many to be viviparous, or able to bear live young. Another Lariosaurus skeleton was found with two juvenile placodonts of the genus Cyamodus in its stomach, giving an indication of its diet.
In 2014 a skull was found in the Winterswijk Muschekalk quarry, of what appeared to be a new species, that was named Lariosaurus vosseveldensis. In 2015 it was added to the collection of Museum TwentseWelle in Enschede. It was registered TW.480000504. Also found was an isolated, fused parietal, that was registered TW.4800000505.
Loch Ness mocking Lariosaurus sightings are often reported on the newspapers of the Lake Como area. The myth has been cited in various books,[5] songs[6] and TV programmes.[7]
Referencesedit
^Wen-Bin Lin; Da-Yong Jiang; Olivier Rieppel; Ryosuke Motani; Cheng Ji; Andrea Tintori; Zuo-Yu Sun; Min Zhou (2017). "A new specimen of Lariosaurus xingyiensis (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Ladinian (Middle Triassic) Zhuganpo Member, Falang Formation, Guizhou, China". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (2). e1278703. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1278703.
^Qiyue Zhang; Wen Wen; Shixue Hu; Michael J. Benton; Changyong Zhou; Tao Xie; Tao Lü; Jinyuan Huang; Brian Choo; Zhong-Qiang Chen; Jun Liu; Qican Zhang (2014). "Nothosaur foraging tracks from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China". Nature Communications. 5. 3973. doi:10.1038/ncomms4973.
^ abRieppel, Olivier (1998). The status of the sauropterygian reptile genera Ceresiosaurus, Lariosaurus, and Silvestrosaurus from the Middle Triassic of Europe. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Chicago, Ill. : Field Museum of Natural History.
^Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 73. ISBN1-84028-152-9.
^Giorno, Il (2013-08-23). "Il lago di Como ha il suo mostro Tra leggende e avvistamenti la vera storia del Lariosauro - Il Giorno". Il Giorno (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-04-30.
^""El Mustru", Davide Van De Sfroos". Genius. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
^Mediaset. "Video Mistero: Il Lariosauro: un mostro nel lago di Como? - SERVIZI | MEDIASET ON DEMAND". Video Mediaset. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
Dixon, Dougal (2006). The Complete Book of Dinosaurs. Hermes House.
lariosaurus, extinct, genus, nothosaurid, from, middle, triassic, late, anisian, late, ladinian, stage, central, western, europe, china, with, complete, specimen, xingyiensis, measuring, long, hongguoensis, possibly, measuring, long, smallest, known, nothosaur. Lariosaurus is an extinct genus of nothosaurid from the Middle Triassic late Anisian to late Ladinian stage of central and western Europe and China With a complete specimen of L xingyiensis measuring 70 5 cm 2 3 ft long and L hongguoensis possibly measuring up to 80 cm 2 6 ft long 1 2 it was one of the smallest known nothosaurs First discovered at Perledo on the Lake Como in 1830 it was named in 1847 by Curioni its name meaning Lizard from Larius the ancient name of the lake This makes it one of the earliest studied reptiles from the Alps It is known from an almost complete skeleton holotype and several other fairly complete fossils LariosaurusTemporal range Anisian Carnian 247 2 235 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NLariosaurus balsamiScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ReptiliaSuperorder SauropterygiaOrder NothosauroideaFamily NothosauridaeSubfamily LariosaurinaeGenus LariosaurusCurioni 1847Species L balsami Curioni 1847 type L buzzii Tschanz 1989 L curionii Rieppel 1998 L hongguoensis Jiang et al 2006 L juvenilis Edinger 1921 L stensioi Haas 1963 Rieppel Mazin amp Tchernov 1999 L valceresii Tintori amp Renesto 1990 L vosseveldensis Klein et al 2016 L winkelhorsti Klein amp Albers 2004 L xingyiensis Li Liu amp Rieppel 2002 L youngi Li amp Rieppel 2004SynonymsGenus synonymy Deirosaurus Owen 1854 nomen dubium Eupodosaurus Boulenger 1891Macromerosaurus Curioni 1847 emend Curioni 1854Phygosaurus Arthaber 1924Rhaticonia Broili 1927Micronothosaurus Haas 1963 Species synonymy Micronothosaurus stensioi Haas 1963Nothosaurus juvenilis Edinger 1921Nothosaurus youngi Li amp Rieppel 2004Nothosaurus winkelhorsti Klein amp Albers 2004 Synonyms of L balsami Deirosaurus italicus Owen 1854 nomen dubium Eupodosaurus longobardicus Boulenger 1891Lariosaurus lavizzarii Kuhn Schynder 1987 nomen dubium Macromerosaurus plinii Curioni 1847 emend Curioni 1854Phygosaurus balsami Arthaber 1924 not Curioni 1847 Proneusticosaurus carinthiacus Arthaber 1924Rhaticonia rothpletzi Broili 1927The nothosaur Eupodosaurus initially classified as a stegosaurian dinosaur is now considered synonymous with Lariosaurus In 1998 Rieppel synonymised Lariosaurus Silvestrosaurus and Ceresiosaurus but this is disputed by many authors and they are usually considered close relatives 3 Features edit nbsp Lariosaurus valceresii life restoration in environment nbsp Juvenile of Lariosaurus valceresiiFor a nothosaur Lariosaurus was primitive possessing a short neck and small flippers in comparison to its relatives This would have made it a relatively poor swimmer and it is presumed to have spent much time on dry land or hunting in shallows 4 It had a large postorbital region of the skull with the temporal fossae noticeably larger than the orbits The premaxillary and anterior dentary teeth are strongly elongated like fangs and could have acted as a fish trap The parietal and squamosal bones are elongated into a small occipital crest for the attachment of jaw muscles The vertebrae are pachyostotic and have a low neural spine Ribs are present from the neck all the way down to the sacrum which has a cluster of four or five pairs There are caudal ribs but they are very small and not present beyond the 15th caudal vertebra The gastral ribs are made up of multiple elements and form a sturdy kind of armour The humerus has a weakly developed deltapectoral crest and increases gradually in width towards the distal end There is a distinct space between the radius and the more slender ulna The fingers have more bones than the toes and clearly show how Lariosaurus was unique among nothosaurs because its front legs were adapted into paddles while the back legs remained five toed The femur is more lightly built than the humerus but longer There is less difference between tibia and fibula than between radius and ulna 3 Further based on skeletal findings of immature lariosaurs inside the adults Lariosaurus is believed by many to be viviparous or able to bear live young Another Lariosaurus skeleton was found with two juvenile placodonts of the genus Cyamodus in its stomach giving an indication of its diet In 2014 a skull was found in the Winterswijk Muschekalk quarry of what appeared to be a new species that was named Lariosaurus vosseveldensis In 2015 it was added to the collection of Museum TwentseWelle in Enschede It was registered TW 480000504 Also found was an isolated fused parietal that was registered TW 4800000505 In popular culture editFurther information Lariosauro Loch Ness mocking Lariosaurus sightings are often reported on the newspapers of the Lake Como area The myth has been cited in various books 5 songs 6 and TV programmes 7 References edit Wen Bin Lin Da Yong Jiang Olivier Rieppel Ryosuke Motani Cheng Ji Andrea Tintori Zuo Yu Sun Min Zhou 2017 A new specimen of Lariosaurus xingyiensis Reptilia Sauropterygia from the Ladinian Middle Triassic Zhuganpo Member Falang Formation Guizhou China Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 37 2 e1278703 doi 10 1080 02724634 2017 1278703 Qiyue Zhang Wen Wen Shixue Hu Michael J Benton Changyong Zhou Tao Xie Tao Lu Jinyuan Huang Brian Choo Zhong Qiang Chen Jun Liu Qican Zhang 2014 Nothosaur foraging tracks from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China Nature Communications 5 3973 doi 10 1038 ncomms4973 a b Rieppel Olivier 1998 The status of the sauropterygian reptile genera Ceresiosaurus Lariosaurus and Silvestrosaurus from the Middle Triassic of Europe University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Chicago Ill Field Museum of Natural History Palmer D ed 1999 The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals London Marshall Editions p 73 ISBN 1 84028 152 9 Giorno Il 2013 08 23 Il lago di Como ha il suo mostro Tra leggende e avvistamenti la vera storia del Lariosauro Il Giorno Il Giorno in Italian Retrieved 2018 04 30 El Mustru Davide Van De Sfroos Genius Retrieved 2018 04 30 Mediaset Video Mistero Il Lariosauro un mostro nel lago di Como SERVIZI MEDIASET ON DEMAND Video Mediaset Retrieved 2018 04 30 Dixon Dougal 2006 The Complete Book of Dinosaurs Hermes House nbsp This article about a prehistoric reptile is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lariosaurus amp oldid 1184359698, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
