Name/Title
KeichosaurusEntry/Object ID
2011.57.48Description
Description: Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Family: Pachypleurosaur
Order: Nothosauroidea
Common Name: Marine Reptile
Age: Triassic
Location: China
Description: Rectangular slab with finely detailed (full skeleton) fossil. Color is dark gray to black.
Physical Characteristics:
Keichousaurus is a genus of marine reptile in the pachypleurosaur family which went extinct at the close of the Triassic in the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. The name derives from Kweichow (now Guizhou Province) in China where the first fossil specimen was discovered in 1957. They are among the most common sauropterygian fossils recovered and are often found as nearly complete, articulated skeletons, making them popular among collectors. Keichousaurus, and the pachypleurosaur family broadly, are sometimes classified within Nothosauroidea, but are otherwise listed as a separate, more primitive lineage within Sauropterygia.
Family: Pachypleurosaur
Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Nothosauroidea
Phylum: ChordataCollection
Museum Collection of FossilsAcquisition
Accession
2011.57Source or Donor
Museum Collection of FossilsAcquisition Method
Long-term LoanDimensions
Width
4-1/8 inDepth
1/2 inLength
8-11/16 inLocation
Location
Container
LeftDrawer
3rd ShelfShelf
RightCabinet
Case # 50Wall
NorthRoom
Delmar Smith HallBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
Permanent