plesiosaur

[plee-see-uh-sawr] /ˈpli si əˌsɔr/

noun

any marine reptile of the extinct genus Plesiosaurus, from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, having a small head, a long neck, four paddlelike limbs, and a short tail.

Origin

< Neo-Latin Plesiosaurus (1821), equivalent to Greek plēsí(os) near, close to + -o- -o- + saûros -saur; orig. so named because of its conjectured nearness to modern reptiles, relative to the ichthyosaurs

Related forms

plesiosauroid, adjective

Examples from the web for plesiosaur

One photograph appeared to show the head, neck and upper torso of a plesiosaur.
They constructed an animatronic model of a plesiosaur, and dubbed it lucy.

British Dictionary definitions for plesiosaur

plesiosaur

/ˈpliːsɪəˌsɔː/

noun

any of various extinct marine reptiles of the order Sauropterygia, esp any of the suborder Plesiosauria, of Jurassic and Cretaceous times, having a long neck, short tail, and paddle-like limbs See also ichthyosaur Compare dinosaur, pterosaur

Word Origin

C19: from New Latin plēsiosaurus, from Greek plēsios near + sauros a lizard

plesiosaur in Science

plesiosaur

(plē'sē-ə-sôr')
Any of various large, extinct marine reptiles of the genus Plesiosaurus and related genera of the Mesozoic Era. Most plesiosaurs had a small head on a long neck and a broad body with paddlelike limbs; one group had a large head on a short neck. The exact relationship between plesiosaurs and other reptiles is not known.

Encyclopedia Article for plesiosaur

any of a group of long-necked marine reptiles found as fossils from the Late Triassic Period into the Late Cretaceous Period (215 million to 80 million years ago). Plesiosaurs had a wide distribution in European seas and around the Pacific Ocean, including Australia, North America, and Asia. Some forms known from North America and elsewhere persisted until near the end of the Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago).

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