| Dolichosaurus Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous
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| The holotype specimen (NHMUK PV OR 49002) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | †Dolichosauridae |
| Genus: | †Dolichosaurus Owen, 1850 |
| Species | |
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Dolichosaurus (meaning "long lizard") is an extinct genus of marine squamate of the Upper Cretaceous Cenomanian chalk deposits of England. It was described and named by Owen in 18501. It is a member of the family Dolichosauridae.2 It was a small reptile measuring 0.5–1 m (1.6–3.3 ft) long.3 It had an elongate neck resulting from an increased number of cervical vertebrae.2
References
References
- Owen, Richard (1850). "Description of the fossil reptiles of the Chalk formations". In Dixon, Frederick (ed.). The Geology and Fossils of the Tertiary and Cretaceous Formations of Sussex. pp. 378–400.
- Michael W. Caldwell. On the aquatic squamate Dolichosaurus longicollis Owen, 1850 (Cenomanian, Upper Cretaceous), and the evolution of elongate necks in squamates. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20(4):720-735. 2000. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0720:OTASDL]2.0.CO;2
- Bardet, Nathalie (2008). "The Cenomanian-Turonian (late Cretaceous) radiation of marine squamates (Reptilia): the role of the Mediterranean Tethys". Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 179 (6): 605–623. doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.179.6.605.