images

Elasmosaurus

by

Walter B. Myers/Novapix

Reference

t-din03-20202

Date

2010-12-16

A pair of 40-foot-long Elasmosaurus engage in a swimming courtship dance in a secluded pool 80 million years ago in what is today North America. The gull-like birds are Ichthyornis, the Cretaceous ecological equivalent of modern seabirds such as gulls, petrels, and skimmers.
At over two tons, Elasmosaurus was an air-breathing carnivorous reptile with flippers for limbs and a relatively small head with sharp teeth. More than half of its length was neck which had more than 70 vertebrae, more than any other animal.