Tanystropheus - Paleoecology

Paleoecology

With its incredibly long but relatively stiff neck, Tanystropheus has been often proposed and reconstructed as an aquatic or semi-aquatic reptile, a theory supported by the fact that the creature is most commonly found in semiaquatic fossil sites wherein known terrestrial reptile remains are scarce. Tanystropheus is most often considered to have been piscivorous (fish-eating'), due to the presence of a long, narrow snout sporting sharp interlocking teeth. In several young specimens, three-cusped cheek teeth are present in the jaw, which might indicate an insectivorous diet; however, similar teeth patterns have been found in Eudimorphodon and Langobardisaurus, both of whom are considered piscivores. Additionally, hooklets from cephalopod tentacles and what may be fish scales have been found near the belly regions of some specimens.

In 2006, Dr. Silvio Renesto described a specimen discovered in Switzerland which preserved the impressions of skin and other soft tissue. Renesto interpreted this specimen as supporting the hypothesis that Tanystropheus lived along the shoreline, snatching fish and other marine life from the shallows with its long neck and sharp teeth. The specimen displayed an unusual "black material" around the base of the tail, containing several calcium carbonate spherules, suggesting a quite noticeable amount of muscle behind the animal's hips. In addition to containing powerful hind limb muscles, this unusually large muscle mass would have shifted the animal's weight to its rear, stabilizing the animal as it swung and maneuvered its massive neck.

The skin impressions are the first reported from Tanystropheus, showing that it was covered in semi-rectangular, non-overlapping scales.