Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
530 / Paleozoic
Claudiosaurus
Claudiosaurus germaini
A long neck, tail and webbed feet show an early diapsid frequently entering water.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 259–254 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Permian
- Geographic range
- Coastal bays · Madagascar
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Claudiosaurus?
Claudiosaurus (Claudiosaurus germaini) was an extinct organism known from About 259–254 million years ago, with a range in Coastal bays · Madagascar.
Life and ecology
It swam with tail and hind limbs for fish and invertebrates and rested ashore.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Claudiosaurus disappear?
Its record, about 259–254 million years old, does not establish survival to the end-Permian crisis; the specific cause of its disappearance is unknown.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Claudiosaurus?
Complete skeletons preserve limb and girdle proportions; links to later marine reptiles remain comparative.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS