What is Cryptoclidus?
{{italictitle}} {{taxobox | name = ''Cryptoclidus'' | fossil_range = Late [[Jurassic]] <br/>166{{ndash}}164 mya | image = Cryptoclidus eurymerus Tubingen.JPG | image_width = 250px | image_caption = A skeleton cast of a juvenile ''Cryptoclidus'' in the [[University of Tübingen]]. | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | subphylum = [[Vertebrata]] | classis = [[Sauropsida]] | superordo = †[[Sauropterygia]] | ordo = †[[Plesiosaur]]ia | subordo = †[[Plesiosauroidea]] | familia = †[[Cryptoclididae]] | genus = †'''''Cryptoclidus''''' }} '''''Cryptoclidus''''' was a species of [[plesiosaur]], an aquatic [[reptile]] up to 13 feet (4 m) long. It had curved, interlocking teeth, a wide skull, and large, flexible, [[paddle]]-like flippers. The fragile head and teeth could not deal with large prey. That suggests a diet of small, soft-bodied animals such as [[squid]] and small [[shoaling]] fish. ''Cryptoclidus'' lived during the middle part of the Late Jurassic period. ''Cryptoclidus'' fossils have been found in [[England]], [[France]], [[Russia]], and possibly the [[Americas]]. ''Cryptoclidus'' was named by Seeley in 1892. The [[type species]] is ''Cryptoclidus eurymerus''. Adult ''Cryptoclidus'' were larger than juveniles, and they could span to about 13 feet long. {{biology-stub}} [[category:Plesiosaurs]]