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KEICHOUSAURUS
(kay-choo-sore-us)
meaning: "Kweichow lizard"
Keichousaurus
Named By: Young in 1958
Time Period: late Early-early Late Triassic, Olenekian-Carnian
Location: China
Size: 15-30 centimetres long
Diet: unavailable
Fossil(s): Specimens are so numerous it is hard to estimate
Classification: | Chordata | Reptilia | Sauropterygia | Nothosauroidea | Pachypleurosauria |
About

Keichousaurus is a genus of marine reptile in the pachypleurosaur family which went extinct at the close of the Triassic in the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. The name derives from Kweichow (now Guizhou Province) in China where the first fossil specimen was discovered in 1957. They are among the most common sauropterygian fossils recovered and are often found as nearly complete, articulated skeletons, making them popular among collectors. Keichousaurus, and the pachypleurosaur family broadly, are sometimes classified within Nothosauroidea, but are otherwise listed as a separate, more primitive lineage within Sauropterygia.

Read more about Keichousaurus at Wikipedia
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