Platecarpus ictericus
Platecarpus ictericus
(PLAT ee KAR pus)
Description: Marine Lizard
Specimen Location: Niobrara Chalk of Northwestern Kansas
Name Means: "flat-wristed' for the bone structure of its paddles
Platecarpus was a member of the group of marine lizards called mosasaurs (MOE sah SOARS.) Scientists have found Platecarpus specimens with thick fossilized eardrums; this adaptation may have made it easier for the animals to dive in deep waters.
Discoverer: Michael Triebold
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