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Line 1: − '''Plesiosaurs''' are large [[reptiles]] characterized by long necks with small heads; stocky, finless tails; and a broad, turtle-like body with four flippered appendages. Based on their morphological design and fossilized feces<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4341204.stm "Plesiosaur bottom-feeding shown"], BBC</ref>, paleontologists infer that they were sea-dwelling carnivores that dined on fish and shellfish.+ − − <div style="text-align:center">[[Image:plesiosaur_owen.png|none|Plesiosaur skeleton from ''Palaeontology'', Richard Owen, 1861, p. 247.]]</div> − − Their [[fossil]] skeletons were first discovered in early 19th century in England by [[Mary Anning]] and were among the first large vertebrate fossils found. Since then, many more have been found and there are a number of complete specimens. − − The name ''plesiosaur'' (or ''plesiosaurus'') comes from the [[Greek]] for "near to lizard", and was named by [[William Conybeare]] to signify that it was more lizard-like than the fish-like [[ichthyosaurus]], which was first found only a few years previously nearby. − − According to [[evolution | evolutionary]] scientists, who use relative dating methods that rely on the [[strata]] fossils are found in, plesiosaurs lived in the [[Jurassic period]] and are now extinct. According to [[creation]] scientists, who use the [[Bible]], plesiosaurs were created on the fifth day of the [[Creation Week]]<ref name="tj12.3">[http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v12/i3/plesiosaurs.asp "Live plesiosaurs: weighing the evidence"], ''TJ'' 12(3):339–346, Dec. 1998</ref> and lived concurrently with Man. It is also widely held among creation researchers that the [[leviathan]] mentioned in the Bible<ref>''Job'' 3:8, 41:1; ''Psalm'' 74:14, 104:26; ''Isaiah'' 27:1</ref> was a type of plesiosaur, specifically the ''kronosaurus''<ref>[http://www.christiananswers.net/dinosaurs/j-site4.html "The Great Dinosaur Mystery], Christian Answers</ref>. − − Like other aquatic animals, according to the Bible plesiosaurs were not taken aboard the [[Noah's Ark | Ark]] during the [[Great Flood]]<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/Home/Area/AnswersBook/fish14.asp "How did freshwater and saltwater fish survive the Flood?"], Answers in Genesis</ref>. Because of this, some creation researchers believe that not all of them perished in the Flood and that populations survive to this day<ref name="tj12.3"/>, hidden beneath the icy waters of seas and deep lakes. The most often cited evidences for this theory are the many modern sightings around the globe of creatures that fit the description of a plesiosaur, the most famous of which have been reported at [[Loch Ness]], [[Scotland]] (the so-called "Loch Ness Monster" or "Nessie") and [[Lake Okanagan]] in [[British Columbia]] (known as "Ogopogo"). − − There was also a reputed plesiosaur carcass<ref name="tj12.3"/> dredged up by the Japanese fishing trawler ''Zuiyo Maru'' near [[New Zealand]] in 1977, but this find is very controversial as many researchers believe it was either a [[basking shark]] or a [[mosasaur]]. − − ==References== − <references/>
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