Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Peculiarities of the Structure and Locomotor Function of the Tail in Sauropterygia

Biology Bulletin volume 46, pages 751–762 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Among ancient and modern marine reptiles, several structural types of the locomotor apparatus were or are present, supporting different styles of swimming. Ichthyosaurs, mosasaurs, saltwater crocodiles, and representatives of many other groups swam or swim with horizontal undulations of the body primarily using the tail with a vertical caudal fin. Sea turtles with a reduced tail and their body completely immobilized by the shell use only limbs transformed into flippers for swimming. Sauropterygians had a substantially immobilized trunk and a horizontal caudal fin. They used a unique type of subaquatic locomotion with the leading role of two pairs of powerful flippers and vertical undulations of the tail, partial analogs of which are found in sea turtles, sirens, cetaceans, and some semi-aquatic mammals.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Abel, O., Die Eroberungszüge der Wirbelthiere in die Meere der Vorzeit, Jena: Gustav Fischer Verlag, 1924.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Alexander, R., McN., Dynamics of Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Giants, New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Buchholtz, E.A., Swimming styles in Jurassic ichthyosaurs, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 2001, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 61–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Buchholtz, E.A., Booth, A.C., and Webbink, K.E., Vertebral anatomy in the Florida manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostris: a developmental and evolutionary analysis, Anat. Rec., 2007, vol. 290, no. 6, pp. 624–637.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Carpenter, K., Sanders, F., Reed, B., Reed, J., and Larson, P., Plesiosaur swimming as interpreted from skeletal analysis and experimental results, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 2010, vol. 113, nos. 1–2, pp. 1–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Carroll, R.L., Plesiosaur ancestors from the Upper Permian of Madagascar, Phil. Trans. R. Soc., London, 1981, vol. 293B, no. 1066. pp. 315–383.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Carroll, R.L. and Gaskill, P., The nothosaur Pachypleurosaurus and the origin of plesiosaurs, Phil. Trans. R. Soc., London, 1985, vol. 309, no. 1139, pp. 315–383.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Cruickshank, A.R.I., Martill, D.M., and Noe, L.F., A pliosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) exhibiting pachyostosis from the Middle Jurassic of England, J. Geol. Soc., London, 1996, vol. 153, pp. 873–879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Dames, W., Die Plesiosaurier der Süddeutschen Liasformation, Abhandlungen Königliche Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften fur Berlin (Phys.-Math.), 1895, no. 2, pp. 1–81.

  10. Diedrich, C.G., The oldest “subaquatic flying” reptile in the world—Pistosaurus longaevus Meyer, 1839 (Sauropterygia) from the Middle Triassic of Europe, in The Triassic System, Bull. N. M. Mus. Nat. Hist. Sci., 2013, vol. 61, pp. 169–215.

  11. Fish, F.E., Function of the compressed tail of surface swimming muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus), J. Mammal., 1982, vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 591–597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Fraas, E., Die Meer-Krocodilier (Thalattosuchia) des oberen Jura unter specieller Berücksichtigung von Dacosaurus und Geosaurus, Palaeontographica, 1902, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 1–72.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Fraas, E., Plesiosaurier aus dem oberen Lias von Holzmaden, Palaeontographica, 1910, vol. 57, nos. 3–4, pp. 105–140.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Frey, E., Mulder, E.W.A., Stinnesbeck, W., Rivera-Sylva, H.E., Padilla- Gutiérrez, J.M., and González-González, A.H., A new polycotylid plesiosaur with extensive soft tissue preservation from the early Late Cretaceous of northeast Mexico, Boletin de la Sociedad Geologica Mexicana, 2017, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 87–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Gregory, W.K., Evolution Emerging, New York: Macmillan, 1951, vol. 2.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Huene, F., Von, Ein neuer Plesiosaurier aus dem oberen Lias Württembergs, Jahresheft Vereins Vaterlandische Naturkunde Württembergs, 1923¸vol. 79, pp. 1–21.

  17. Ivlev, Yu.F., Kuznetsov, A.N., and Rutovskaya, M.V., Preliminary data on the swimming kinematics of the Russian desman (Desmana moschata L.), Dokl. Biol. Sci., 2010, vol. 431, no. 6, pp. 144–148.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Lamantin. Morfologicheskie adaptatsii (Manatee. Morphological Adaptations), Sokolov, V.E., Ed., Moscow: Nauka, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Lavrov, L.S., Bobry Paleoarktiki (Beavers of Palearctic), Voronezh: Voronezh. Univ., 1981.

  20. Lindgren, J., Jagt, J.W.M., and Caldwell, M.W., A fishy mosasaur: the axial skeleton of Plotosaurus (Reptilia, Squamata) reassessed, Lethaia, 2007, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 153–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Lindgren, J., Caldwell, M.W., and Jagt, J.W.M., New data on the postcranial anatomy of the California mosasaur Plotosaurus bennisoni (Camp, 1942) (Upper Cretaceous: Maastrichtian), and the taxonomic status of P. tuckeri (Camp, 1942), J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 2008, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 1043–1054.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Lindgren, J., Caldwell, M.W., Konishi, T., and Chiappe, L.M., Convergent evolution in aquatic tetrapods: insights from an exceptional fossil mosasaur, PLoS One, 2010, vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 1–10. e11998.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Lindgren, J., Kaddumi, H.F., and Polcyn, M.J., Soft tissue preservation in a fossil marine lizard with a bilobed tail fin, Nat. Commun., 2013, vol. 4, no. 2423, pp. 1–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Lingham-Soliar, T. and Plodowski, G., Taphonomic evidence for high-speed adapted fins in thunniform ichthyosaurs, Naturwissenschaften, 2007, vol. 94, no. 1, pp. 65–70.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Mazin, J.-M., Mesozoic marine reptiles: an overview, in Secondary Adaptation of Tetrapods to Life in Water, Mazin, J.-M. and de Buffrénil, V., Eds., München: Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, 2001, pp. 95–117.

    Google Scholar 

  26. McGowan, C., The ichthyosaurian tail: sharks do not provide an appropriate analogue, Palaeontology, 1992, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 555–570.

    Google Scholar 

  27. McHenry, C.R., Cook, A.G., and Wroe, S., Bottom-feeding plesiosaurs, Science, 2005, vol. 310, no. 5745, p. 75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Mordvinov, Yu.E., Funktsional’naya morfologiya plavaniya ptits i poluvodnykh mlekopitayushchikh (Functional Morphology of Swimming in Birds and Semi-Aquatic Mammals), Kiev: Naukova Dumka, 1984.

  29. Motani, R., Evolution of fish-shaped reptiles (Reptilia: Ichthyopterygia) in their physical environments and constraints, Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci., 2005, vol. 33, pp. 395–420.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Motani, R., The evolution of marine reptiles, Evol.: Educ. Outreach, 2009, no. 2, pp. 224–235.

    Google Scholar 

  31. O’Keefe, F.R., Street, H.P., Wilhelm, B.C., Richards, C.D., and Zhu, H., A new skeleton of the cryptoclidid plesiosaur Tatenectes laramiensis reveals a novel body shape among plesiosaurs, J. Vertebr. Palaeontol., 2011, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 330–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. O’Keefe, F.R., Otero, R.A., Soto-Acuna, S., O’Gorman, J.P.O., Godfrey, S.J., and Chatterjee, S., Cranial anatomy of Morturneira seymourensis from Antarctica, and the evolution of filter feeding in plesiosaurs of the austral late cretaceous, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 2017, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 1–13. e1347570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Otero, R.A., Soto-Acuna, S., Frank, R.O., and Keefe, F.R., Osteology of Aristonectes quiriquinensis (Elasmosauridae, Aristonectinae) from the Upper Maastrichtian of Central Chile, J. Vertebr. Palaeontol., 2018, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 1–19. e1408638.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Pinna, G. and Nosotti, S., Anatomia, morfologia funzionale e paleoecologia del rettile Placodonte, Pseuphoderma alpinum Meyer, 1858, Memorie della Societa Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, 1989, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 17–50.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Renesto, S., A new specimen of Tanystropheus (Reptilia, Protorosauria) from the Middle Triassic of Switzerland and the ecology of the genus, Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 2005, vol. 111, no. 3, pp. 377–394.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Renesto, S. and Saller, F., Evidences for a semi aquatic life style in the Triassic diapsid reptile Tanystropheus,Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 2018, vol. 124, no. 1, pp. 23–34.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Renesto, S. and Tintori, A., Functional morphology and mode of life of the Late Triassic placodont Psephoderma alpinum, Meyer from the Calcare di Zorzino (Lombardy, N. Italy), Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 1995, vol. 101, no. 1, pp. 37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Rieppel, O., Osteology of Simosaurus gaillardoti and the relationships of steam-group Sauropterygia, Fieldiana Geol. N.S, 1994, vol. 28, pp. 1–85.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Robinson, J.A., The locomotion of plesiosaurs, Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Palӓontologie, Abhandlungen, 1975, vol. 149, no. 3, pp. 286–332.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Romer, A.S., Osteology of the Reptilia, Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1956.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Sachs, S., Hornung, J.J., and Kear, B.P., Reappraisal of Europe’s most complete Early Cretaceous plesiosaurian: Brancasaurus brancai Wegner, 1914 from the “Wealden facies” of Germany, PeerJ, 2016, no. 4, pp. 1–79. e2813.

  42. Sander, P.M., Ichthyosauria: their diversity, distribution, and phylogeny, Palӓontologische Zeitschrift, 2000, vol. 74, nos. 1–2, pp. 1–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  43. Sennikov, A.G., New data on the herpetofauna of the Early Triassic Donskaya Luka locality, Volgograd region, Paleontol. J., 2015, vol. 49, no. 11, pp. 1161–1173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. Sennikov, A.G., On the structure and locomotor functions of the tail in marine reptiles, in Sovremennye problemy paleontologii. Materialy LXI sessii Paleontologicheskogo obshchestva pri Ross. Akad. Nauk (13–17 aprelya 2015 g., Sankt-Peterburg (Modern Problems of Paleontology: Proc. LXI Session of the Paleontological Society of Ross. Acad. Sci. (April 13–17, 2015, St. Petersburg)), St. Petersburg, 2015a, pp. 169–171.

  45. Sennikov, A.G., Features of subaqueous locomotion of Mesozoic marine reptiles, in Melovaya sistema Rossii i blizhnego zarubezh’ya: problemy stratigrafii i paleogeografii. Sbornik Nauchnykh Trudov (Cretaceous System in Russia and Adjacent Countries: Problems of Stratigraphy and Paleogeography. Collected Scientific Papers), Baraboshkin, E.Yu., Ed., Simferopol: Chernomorpress, 2016, pp. 248–250.

  46. Sennikov, A.G., The peculiarities of the structure and role of the tail in the subaqueous locomotion in Sauropterygia, in Evolyutsionnaya i funktsional’naya morfologiya pozvonochnykh, Materialy Vserossiiskoi konferentsii i shkoly dlya molodykh uchenykh pamyati Feliksa Yanovicha Dzerzhinskogo (The Evolutionary and Functional Morphology of Vertebrates: Proc. All-Russia Conf. and School for Young Scientists in Memory of Felix Yanovich Dzerzhinsky), Moscow: Tov. Nauch. Izd. KMK, 2017, pp. 260–266.

  47. Smith, A.S., Morphology of the caudal vertebrae in Rhomaleosaurus zetlandicus and a review of the evidence for a tail fin in Plesiosauria, Paludicola, 2013, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 144–158.

    Google Scholar 

  48. Sokolov, V.E., Sistematika mlekopitayushchikh (otryady: odnoprokhodnykh, sumchatykh, nasekomoyadnykh, sherstokrylov, rukokrylykh, primatov, nepolnozubykh, yashcherov) (Systematics of Mammals (Orders Monotremata, Marsupialia, Insectivora, Dermoptera, Chiroptera, Primates, Pilosa, and Manis)), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1973.

  49. Sokolov, V.E., Sistematika mlekopitayushchikh (kitoobraznye, khishchnye, lastonogie, trubkozubye, khobotnye, damany, sireny, parnokopytnye, mozolenogie, neparnokopytnye) (Systematics of Mammals (Cetacea, Carnivora, Pinnipedia, Tubelidentia, Proboscidea, Hyracoidea, Sirenia, Artiodactyla, Tylopoda, and Perissodactyla)), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1979.

  50. Storrs, G.W., Anatomy and relationships of Corosaurus alcovensis (Diapsida: Sauropterygia) and the Triassic Alcova Limestone of Wyoming, Bull. Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist., 1991, vol. 44, pp. 1–151.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Storrs, G.W., Function and phylogeny in sauropterygian (Diapsida) evolution, Am. J. Sci., 1993, vol. 293-A, pp. 63–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. Sukhanov, V.B., Obshchaya sistema simmetrichnoi lokomotsii i osobennosti peredvizheniya nizshikh tetrapod (The General System of Symmetrical Locomotion and Features of Movement of Lower Tetrapods), Leningrad: Nauka, 1968.

  53. Thewissen, J.G.M. and Fish, F.E., Locomotor evolution in the earliest cetaceans: functional model, modern analogues and paleontological evidence, Paleobiology, 1997, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 482–490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. Wegner, T., Brancasaurus brancai n.g. n.sp., in Elasmosauridae aus dem Wealden Westfalens, Schoendorf, F., Ed., Berlin: Branca-Festschrift, Gebrüda Bornträga, 1914, pp. 235–305.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Wiffen, J., de Buffrénil, V., de Ricqlès, A., and Mazin, J.-M., Ontogenetic evolution of bone structure in Late Cretaceous Plesiosauria from New Zealand, Geobios, 1995, vol. 28, pp. 625–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Wilhelm, B.C. and O’Keefe, F.R., A new partial skeleton of a cryptoclidid plesiosaur from the Upper Jurassic Sundance formation of Wyoming, J. Vertebr. Paleontol., 2010, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 1736–1742.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Williston, S.W., Water Reptiles of the Past and Present, Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1914.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  58. Wiman, C.J., Some reptiles from the Niobrara group in Kansas, Bull. Geol. Inst. Uppsala, 1920, vol. 18, pp. 9–18.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Young, M.T., Brusatte, S.L., Ruta, M., and Andrade, M.B., The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea (Mesoeucrocodylia: Thalattosuchia): an integrated approach using geometric morphometrics, analysis disparity and biomechanics, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 2010, vol. 158, no. 4, pp. 801–859.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by state subsidies to Kazan Federal University towards the increase of its competitiveness among the world’s leading scientific and educational centers, as well as by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project nos. 17-04-00410, 16-05-00711, and 17-54-10013).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    A. G. Sennikov

  2. Kazan Federal University, 420008, Kazan, Russia

    A. G. Sennikov

Authors
  1. A. G. Sennikov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. G. Sennikov.

Ethics declarations

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. This article does not contain any studies involving animals or human participants performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Translated by A. Lisenkova

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sennikov, A.G. Peculiarities of the Structure and Locomotor Function of the Tail in Sauropterygia. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 46, 751–762 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359019070100

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359019070100

Keywords:

search

Navigation