plesiosaur

noun

ple·si·o·saur ˈplē-sē-ə-ˌsȯr

-zē-

: any of an order or suborder (Plesiosauria) of large carnivorous marine reptiles of the Mesozoic with dorsoventrally flattened bodies and limbs modified into flippers

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This ancient marine environment had produced fossils of plesiosaurs and dolphin-like ichthyosaurs in other locations, so the researchers expected that any new find was going to be something similar. —

Jeanne Timmons, Ars Technica, 25 Jan. 2023 Originally thought to be saltwater animals only, recent research indicates that some plesiosaurs could live in freshwater environments (like Loch Ness). —

Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 23 Jan. 2024 This fearsome creature was not the largest animal of the tropical Cretaceous oceans: It was outclassed by several species of enormous long-necked plesiosaurs, such as the 26-foot-long Callawayasaurus colombiensis. —

Santiago Flórez, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2024 This has only added to the conviction that Nessie is either some surviving example of plesiosaur or a heretofore unknown species descended from those early dinosaurs. —

Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 23 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for plesiosaur