Loch Ness Monster! Ahhhhhh! Run away!

     The plesiosaurus (better known as the loch ness monster) is actually a prehistoric dinosaur! Actually, they're sauropterygian, to be exact. But they don't like posing for pictures, so don't waste your time. It was one of the largest aquatic animals and lived throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It has been said that they grew up to 23 meters long (around 60 feet), which is really huge, making it one of the largest sea creatures. A plesiosaurus had four large flippers, a short tail, and a very, very long neck. But their neck was probably stiff due to their flat-ended vertebrae. Plesiosaurus also had lungs, not gills, and had to come to the surface to breathe, just like whales and dolphins today.They ate mostly squid-like animals, fish, and giant mollusks, making them possibly the largest aquatic carnivores.

     Many modern-day pictures of the plesiosaurus show them hunting land animals on the beach. This, in fact, is not true. Its four flippers could not support its massive body on land. The species supposedly died out around 65 million years ago (but you can't be sure). Many plesiosaur fossils have been found along the coast of England, which is why they are quickly associated with the loch ness monster.   

Cool facts about the plesiosaurus

• the word plesiosaurus actually means "near lizard" or "ribbon Lizard"
• have no real defenses or advantages other than their size
• laid their eggs in the sand like the sea turtle
• swallowed their food whole without chewing
• first plesiosaurus fossil found in 1821 by famous fossil hunter Mary Anning 
• was probably the first fossil reptile seen by scientists
• the most plesiosaurus fossils have been found in England and Germany

Classification

Domain: Eukaryotes

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Sauropsida

Order: Plesiosauria

Family: Plesiosauridae

Genus: Plesiosaurus

Species: P. Dolichodirus          

This is the most famous picture of the loch ness monster, also thought to be a hoax.                                                       

YouTube videos 

                            check out this page by Joann M. about dinos       

This one's fake, obviously. Don't you want a Toyota now?

Links

• picture 1
• picture 2
• wikipedia
• a lot of dino info
• cool extra news and info
• plesiosaurus facts
• loch ness monster picture
• picture 3

Sites (in order of links, and same as links)

• 22 Jan. 2009<http://www.fossilien.de/seiten/saurier/plesiosaurus_lebensbild.jpg>
• 22 Jan. 2009<http://www.oceansofkansas.com/plesiosaur.html>
• "Plesiosaurus" 22 Jan. 2009<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plesiosaurus>
• "Plesiosaurus" 13 May 2008.  20 Jan. 2009<http://www.dinosaurfacts.org/plesiosaurus>
• "Sea-monster or Shark?" 25 Jan.2009<http://www.paleo.cc/paluxy/plesios.htm>
• 10 Feb. 2009<http://www.prehistory.com/plesiosa.htm>
• 19 Feb. 2009<http://www.plesiosauria.com/hoax.html>
• 19 Feb. 2009<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/dinotemplates/Plesiosaurus.shtml>