AN ALMOST complete fossil of an early marine reptile from the Triassic, with a neck nearly twice the length of its 1-metre body, has been found in south-east China.
Dinocephalosaurus鈥檚 peculiar anatomy puzzled palaeontologists at first. It has small rib bones along its neck, which would have made it too stiff to lunge at prey with the same ease as plesiosaurs, the similar-looking marine reptiles that evolved later. Now in Science (vol 305, p 1931), researchers propose that it also relied on suction: as it lunged at prey, the cervical ribs would have splayed open, sucking water into its throat. Modern fish and turtles use a similar trick, but expand their mouth cavities.
The long neck would also have helped it sneak up close to prey in murky waters, says team member Mike LeBarbera of the University of Chicago. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e a fish, you see something nearly your size. By the time you figure out it鈥檚 bigger, it鈥檚 eaten you.鈥�
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