Thililua

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Thililua

Thililua is a genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of polycotylid

Polycotylidae

Polycotylidae is a family of plesiosaurs from the Cretaceous, a sister group to the elasmosauridae.With their short necks and large elongated heads, they resemble the pliosaurs, but closer phylogenetical studies indicate that they share many common features with the plesiosauridae and elasmosauridae....
plesiosaur

Plesiosaur

Plesiosaurs were carnivore aquatic reptiles. After their discovery, they were somewhat fancifully said to have resembled , although they had no shell....
, containing one species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
, T. longicollis. The name Thililua is derived from that of an ancient aquatic god from local Berber

Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
mythology; longicollis refers to the animal's long neck. Thililua has been found in Late Cretaceous

Late Cretaceous

Late Cretaceous refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period , named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time....
( early Turonian

Turonian

The Turonian is a faunal stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch . It spans the time between 93.5 ? 0.8 annum and 89.3 ? 1 Ma .The Turonien was definied by the French paleontologist Alcide d'Orbigny , who named it after the city of Tours in the French department of Indre-et-Loire....
) rocks in the High Atlas

High Atlas

High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa.The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border....
mountains of Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
in north Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
. Thililua is the first Polycotylid plesiosaur discovered in Africa, and also the first discovered that lived at a subtropical latitude.

type specimen of T.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Thililua'

Start a new discussion about 'Thililua'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Thililua is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of polycotylid
Polycotylidae

Polycotylidae is a family of plesiosaurs from the Cretaceous, a sister group to the elasmosauridae.With their short necks and large elongated heads, they resemble the pliosaurs, but closer phylogenetical studies indicate that they share many common features with the plesiosauridae and elasmosauridae....
plesiosaur
Plesiosaur

Plesiosaurs were carnivore aquatic reptiles. After their discovery, they were somewhat fancifully said to have resembled , although they had no shell....
, containing one species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
, T. longicollis. The name Thililua is derived from that of an ancient aquatic god from local Berber
Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are discontinuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River....
mythology; longicollis refers to the animal's long neck. Thililua has been found in Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous

Late Cretaceous refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period , named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time....
( early Turonian
Turonian

The Turonian is a faunal stage of the Late Cretaceous epoch . It spans the time between 93.5 ? 0.8 annum and 89.3 ? 1 Ma .The Turonien was definied by the French paleontologist Alcide d'Orbigny , who named it after the city of Tours in the French department of Indre-et-Loire....
) rocks in the High Atlas
High Atlas

High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas Mountains is a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa.The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border....
mountains of Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
in north Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
. Thililua is the first Polycotylid plesiosaur discovered in Africa, and also the first discovered that lived at a subtropical latitude.

Anatomy
The type specimen of T. longicollis, which was described in 2003, consists of an almost complete skull
Skull

The skull is a bone structure found in the head of many animals. The skull supports the structures of the face and protects the head against injury....
and lower jaw, articulated with 37 vertebrae. Of these vertebrae, 30 were cervical (neck) vertebrae, which is an unusually high number compared to other Polycotylids, such as Dolichorhynchops
Dolichorhynchops

'Dolichorhynchops' is a genus of Polycotylidae plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America, containing two species, D. osborni and D....
, which had only 19 neck vertebrae, and Polycotylus
Polycotylus

Polycotylus is an extinct marine reptile, a plesiosaur of the suborder Plesiosauroidea. The type species is P.latippinis. Nine other species have been identified....
, which had 26. It is believed to be an adult specimen, since some of the cranial sutures
Cranial sutures

A suture is a type of fibrous joint which only occurs in the skull . They are bound together by Sharpey's fibres. A tiny amount of movement is permitted at sutures, which contributes to the Compliance and Elasticity of the skull....
are very difficult to distinguish. Using comparisons with the head and neck length to body length ratio of a related genus, Dolichorhynchops
Dolichorhynchops

'Dolichorhynchops' is a genus of Polycotylidae plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous of North America, containing two species, D. osborni and D....
, the estimated total length of Thililua was 5.5 to 6 metre
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
s.