Scientists reveal the secret of pre-flood Chinese dragon reptiles: what they looked like

Researchers from Scotland, Germany, the United States, and China have recreated the appearance of a five-meter-long aquatic reptile called the "Chinese dragon". This "pre-flood" creature, which belongs to the species Dinocephalosaurus orientalis, inhabited water bodies in modern China in the Triassic period about 240 million years ago. SSPDaily tells about it.

According to the website of the National Museum of Scotland, this reptile was identified back in 2003, but it had never been seen in its "full glory" before.

The researchers were helped by well-preserved fossils of a dinocephalosaur discovered in Guizhou Province in southern China. The body of the reptile was fully articulated, so this allowed scientists to depict the bizarre long creature in full for the first time.

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis had 32 separate cervical vertebrae and an unusually long neck, making it similar to Tanystropheus hydroides, another marine reptile from the Middle Triassic the remains of thich are found in both Europe and China.

Both reptiles are about the same size and share several skull features, including fish-trap teeth. However, Dinocephalosaurus is unique in that it has many more vertebrae in both its neck and torso, giving the animal a much more snake-like appearance.

The reptile was well adapted to an oceanic lifestyle, as evidenced by the flipper-like limbs and fish remains that can be seen in the stomach area.

"This find allows us to see this magnificent long animal in its full glory for the first time. This is yet another example of the fascinating world of the Triassic period, which continues to puzzle paleontologists," Dr. Nick Fraser of the Natural History Department at the National Museum of Scotland said.

Earlier, paleontologists confirmed that the strange dents in the restaurant yard in southwestern China were left by dinosaurs that lived in the early Cretaceous period.