In Depth
Yuzhoupliosaurus was an interesting find as it was the first rhomaleosaurid pliosaur to be discovered outside of Europe. Rhomaleosaurids like Yuzhoupliosaurus were long necked pliosaurs that looked somewhere between the plesiosaurs like Plesiosaurus, and the shorter necked, large skulled forms like Simolestes and Liopleurodon. Yuzhoupliosaurus itself would have likely been a predator of fish and possibly other small vertebrates which it could catch with the pointed teeth in its mouth before swallowing them whole.
Yuzhoupliosaurus was named after the ancient city of Yuzhou which today is known as Chungking (also sometimes spelled Changquin). Other members of the rhomaleosuridae that Yuzhoupliosaurus is similar to are Macroplata, Maresaurus, Meyerasaurus and of course the type genus Rhomaleosaurus.
Further Reading
– A new plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan Basin. – Vertebrata PalAsiatica 23(3):235-240. – Y. Zhang – 1985.
