Mesosaurus
E514452
Mesosaurus was an early Permian aquatic reptile whose fossils in both South America and Africa provided key evidence for continental drift and the former supercontinent Gondwana.
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
aquatic reptile
ⓘ
extinct genus ⓘ parareptile ⓘ |
| adaptation |
paddle-like limbs
ⓘ
webbed feet ⓘ |
| bodyShape | elongated body ⓘ |
| class | Reptilia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| describedAs | slender, lizard-like reptile ⓘ |
| diet | carnivorous ⓘ |
| distributionPattern | found on both sides of the South Atlantic ⓘ |
| environment | brackish or marine waters ⓘ |
| extinction | Early Permian ⓘ |
| family | Mesosauridae NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| firstAppearance | Early Permian ⓘ |
| fossilRecordQuality | well-preserved specimens ⓘ |
| fossilType |
impressions
ⓘ
skeletons ⓘ |
| foundIn |
Africa
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Brazil NERFINISHED ⓘ Namibia NERFINISHED ⓘ South Africa NERFINISHED ⓘ South America NERFINISHED ⓘ Uruguay NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geologicalAge | approximately 299 to 280 million years ago ⓘ |
| habitat |
aquatic environment
ⓘ
shallow coastal waters ⓘ |
| kingdom | Animalia ⓘ |
| likelyPrey |
small aquatic invertebrates
ⓘ
small fish ⓘ |
| livedDuring |
Cisuralian
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Early Permian NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| locomotion | swimming ⓘ |
| notableFeature | one of the earliest known fully aquatic reptiles ⓘ |
| order | Mesosauria NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| phylum | Chordata ⓘ |
| reproduction | amniote ⓘ |
| researchField | paleontology ⓘ |
| respiration | air-breathing ⓘ |
| scientificSignificance |
evidence for Gondwana
ⓘ
evidence for continental drift ⓘ |
| size | approximately 0.5 to 1 meter in length ⓘ |
| supportsTheory |
existence of supercontinent Gondwana
ⓘ
former connection of South America and Africa ⓘ |
| tail | long tail ⓘ |
| taxonRank | genus ⓘ |
| toothMorphology |
needle-like teeth
ⓘ
numerous slender teeth ⓘ |
| typeSpecies | Mesosaurus tenuidens NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| usedAsEvidenceFor | continental drift hypothesis ⓘ |
| usedBy | Alfred Wegener NERFINISHED ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.