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HOVASAURUS
(ho-vah-sore-us)
meaning: "Hova lizard"
Hovasaurus
Named By: Jean Piveteau in 1926
Time Period: Changhsingian - Induan 253.8-249.7 Ma
Location: Madagascar
Size: 50 centimetres long
Diet: Carnivore
Fossil(s): Many specimens are known
Classification: | Chordata | Amniota | Sauropsida | Eosuchia | Tangasauridae |
About

Hovasaurus is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile belonging to the Order Eosuchia. It lived in what is now Madagascar during the Late Permian.

Hovasaurus resembled a slender lizard, and was around 50 centimetres (20 in) long, of which two thirds was taken up by its long tail. It was well adapted to an aquatic life, with the tail being laterally flattened like that of a sea snake. Some stones have been found in the abdomen of fossil Hovasaurus, indicating the creatures swallowed these for ballast, preventing them from floating to the surface when hunting fish.

Read more about Hovasaurus at Wikipedia
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