| Thililua | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossil in theNational Museum of Nature and Science,Tokyo,Japan | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Family: | †Polycotylidae |
| Genus: | †Thililua Bardet, Suberbiola & Jalil,2003 |
| Species: | †T. longicollis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Thililua longicollis Bardet, Suberbiola & Jalil, 2003 | |
Thililua is agenus ofpolycotylidplesiosaur, containing onespecies,T. longicollis.
The nameThililua is derived from that of an ancient aquatic god from localBerber mythology;longicollis refers to the animal's long neck.Thililua has been found inLate Cretaceous (earlyTuronian) rocks in theHigh Atlas mountains ofMorocco in northAfrica.Thililua is the first Polycotylid plesiosaur discovered in Africa, and also the first discovered that lived at asubtropical latitude.[1] In 2010,Thililua was transferred toLeptocleididae as a sister taxon toNichollssaura.[2]
The type specimen ofT. longicollis, which was described in2003, consists of an almost completeskull andlower jaw, articulated with 37vertebrae. Of these vertebrae, 30 were cervical (neck) vertebrae, which is an unusually high number compared to other Polycotylids, such asDolichorhynchops, which had only 19 neck vertebrae, andPolycotylus, which had 26. It is believed to be an adult specimen, since some of thecranial sutures are very difficult to distinguish. Using comparisons with the head and neck length to body length ratio of a related genus,Dolichorhynchops, the estimated total length ofThililua was 5.5 to 6 metres.[1]
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