Liopleurodon

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These flippers were primarily used for maneuvering and steering in the water, making them great swimmers, regardless of their vast size. L. B. Tarlo (who later went by the name of L. B. Halstead) repurposed part of this iconic reconstruction in at least one other publication, captioned as Liopleurodon (Halstead 1982). However, It was apparently Jane Ann Robinson (1975) who first reused the reconstruction under that genus. Robinson (1977) cites a personal communication with Halstead, so they were certainly acquainted with each other by 1977, so it is possible, likely even, that Robinson consulted with Tarlo/Halstead a couple of years earlier when she reused and captioned the reconstruction as Liopleurodon. However, the size of this reptile was exaggerated, with the magazine claiming that it could reach 39 feet.

The company who produce several lines of dinosaur figures including the Carnegie Collection and the Wild Safari Line They adjusted to the marine lifestyle in the water by developing stiff vertebrae and flippers to aid movement.Robinson, J, A. 1975. The locomotion of plesiosaurs. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie un Paläontologie – Abhandlungen, 149, 286–332.

The Liopleurodon genus of the Pliosauridae family were marine reptiles that dominated the marine ecosystem during the Jurassic period almost 160 million years ago.Tarlo, L. B. 1960. A review of the Upper Jurassic pliosaurs. British Museum (Natural History), Geology, 4, 145–189.

McHenry (2009) suggested that the reconstruction “ may have been based upon StretosaurusTarlo, 1959″ (p.258) and added that “From vertebral counts of the different body segments and general proportions of the skull it undoubtedly represents a large pliosaurid, perhaps‘ Stretosaurus’( Pliosaurus macromerus)” (p. 370). McHenry also noted that “Tarlo… seemed to imply that the reconstruction was partly based upon the Stretham specimen…”(p.359), and subsequently refers to the reconstruction as the “‘Newman and Tarlo Stretosaurus‘ reconstruction, or the ‘ Stretosaurus’ reconstruction” (e.g. p. 370) and says the reconstruction is “ apparently based upon the Stewartby and Stretham specimens” (p. 370). I’ve bolded key parts to highlight that there’s no direct evidence for this assertion – not that I disagree with it. More bones were recovered in other areas in France, and although they were initially categorized under the genus Poikilopleuron, Sauvage finally classified them under Liopleurodon. O’Keefe, F. R. 2002. The evolution of plesiosaur and pliosaur morphotypes in the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia). Palaeobiology, 28(1), 101-112. Figure from Newman & Tarlo (1967) showing the articulated hind flipper of the ‘Stewartby Pliosaur’ ( Liopleurodon ferox). It’s a photocopy of a photocopy, hence the terrible quality, so if anyone has a scan I’d be glad to hear from you. Making sense of the Newman & Tarlo reconstructionTarlo, L. B. 1959. Stretosaurus gen. nov., a giant pliosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay. Palaeontology, 2, 39-55. Following Robinson (1975), many other authors subsequently reused or redrew the Newman & Tarlo reconstruction under the name of Liopleurodon in academic papers, popular articles, and books, to the point where it has become ubiquitous (Taylor 1981; Carroll 1988; Benton 1990a&b; Martill & Hudson 1991; O’Keefe 2002; Ellis 2003; and Yang 2013 come to mind – I’m sure there are many more). Sometimes the outline of the tail fin was reduced or removed, sometimes the soft tissue outline was removed entirely, sometimes the pliosaur was given extra teeth (the original appears devoid of any maxillary teeth), and sometimes its mouth was redrawn in a open position, but the source is always obvious even when it isn’t directly cited. It is quite understandable that this reconstruction has been reused so frequently and for so long. It was the first published illustration of a full body skeletal reconstruction attributed to Liopleurodon, and has remained the only one for 54 years to the present day. So, what do we really know of the ‘Stewartby Pliosaur’ specimen that inspired this reconstruction, and is it really Liopleurodon? A selection of the many books and papers that have reused, modified, or redrawn the Newman & Tarlo (1967) pliosaur reconstruction (original at far left) under the name of Liopleurodon (except, in this picture, Knutsen (2012) (top right) who uses it as a generic pliosaur). The ‘Stewartby Pliosaur’ From its physical characteristics to its behavior, diet, and more, it is evident that the Liopleurodon was a formidable animal.

This name was assigned to this creature primarily because of the shape of the teeth. Another fossil was found in another area in France, which was named L. grossouvrei.Benson, R.B.J.; Evans, M; Smith, A.S.; Sassoon, J.; Moore-Faye S.; Ketchum, H.F. and Forrest, R. 2013. A Giant Pliosaurid Skull from the Late Jurassic of England. PLoS ONE 8(5): e65989. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0065989 Ellis, R. 2003. Sea dragons – predators of the prehistoric oceans. University Press of Kansas, 313 pp. Furthermore, in 1999, more people learned about this extinct animal when it was featured in the BBC series Walking With Dinosaurs. Inanimate objects were not left out; they likely always tried to bite every big thing they discovered. Although it is hard to determine the lifespan of this creature, Liopleurodon likely lived quite long, like several reptiles we see today.