(Long snouted lizard).
Named By: Richard Owen - 1851.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Squamata, Scleroglossa, Dolichosauridae.
Species: D. longicollis (type).
Size: Around 1.5 meters long.
Known locations: England.
Time period: Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains.
Related to the mosasaurs, the exact classification of Dolichosaurus is a little uncertain with its exact closeness to the Mosasauridae a little uncertain. Dolichosaurus is noted for having a long thin build and is speculated to have been a weak swimmer. This in turn has led to past speculation that it may have been semi aquatic, occasionally returning to the land like the much earlier nothosaurs of the Triassic.
- Monograph on the fossil Reptilia of the Cretaceous Formations. Part I. Chelonia (Lacertilia, etc.). - The Palaeontographical Society, London 1851:1-118. - Richard Owen - 1851.
- On The Aquatic Squamate Dolichosaurus longicollis Owen, 1850 (Cenomanian, Upper Cretaceous), and the Evolution of Elongate Necks in Squamates. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20 (4), p720-735. - Michael W. Caldwell - 2000.