Plesiosaurus Anatomy in 3D: Skeleton, Flippers and the Sea Reptile
Plesiosaurus was a long-necked sea reptile that swam with four big flippers. It lived alongside the dinosaurs but was not one. In the 3D Dinosaur Anatomy simulator you can watch it swim, look inside and explore its skeleton.
Explore in 3DThree ways to see Plesiosaurus
Full body
Fossil skeletonPlesiosaurus quick facts
| Lived | About 199 to 175 million years ago, Early Jurassic |
|---|---|
| Length | About 3 to 3.5 m |
| Breathing | Air, at the surface |
| Diet | Fish and other small sea animals |
| Fossils found in | England, especially around Lyme Regis |
The Plesiosaurus fossil skeleton
The Plesiosaurus skeleton has a small head on a long neck, a wide flat body and four long paddle-shaped flippers made of many finger bones. A short tail sat behind the back flippers.
Inside Plesiosaurus
In the Inside view you can tap these labels on the 3D model:
- Brain
- Controls every move, sense and thought.
- Heart
- Pumps blood around the whole body, all day and night.
- Lungs
- It breathed air, so it had to swim up to the surface to fill its lungs.
- Intestines
- Long tubes that soak up food into the body.
Interesting facts about Plesiosaurus
- Plesiosaurus was a sea reptile, not a dinosaur.
- It swam with four flippers, flapping them like underwater wings.
- It breathed air, so it had to come up to the surface.
- The first complete skeleton was found by fossil hunter Mary Anning in Lyme Regis, England, in 1823.
- Its long neck helped it reach into shoals of fish.
More dinosaurs and prehistoric reptiles in 3D
Plesiosaurus anatomy questions
Was Plesiosaurus a dinosaur?
No. It was a marine reptile that lived in the sea at the same time as dinosaurs lived on land.
How did Plesiosaurus swim?
It flapped its four flippers like wings to fly through the water.
Who discovered Plesiosaurus?
Mary Anning found the first complete skeleton at Lyme Regis in England in 1823.
Did Plesiosaurus breathe underwater?
No. It breathed air and had to swim up to the surface to fill its lungs.
The 3D Dinosaur Anatomy simulator is made by Julian Neagu, a solo founder in London, as part of VisionVix Simulators. It is free to use in the browser on desktop and phone, with no sign-up.