Tanystropheus: the sweet condemnation of the prehistoric reptile with more neck than body

This incredible prehistoric reptile had a neck longer than the body, allowing it to sneak up on its
prey in the water and make it a target for even larger hunters.

There was once an ancient marine reptile with a very cunning way of catching its prey: a small
needle-toothed head located at the end of its long, thin neck. Tanystropheus, which lived about
240 million years ago, likely used its elongated neck to keep the rest of its body hidden as it caught
unsuspecting fish and squid while swimming through the Triassic seas.

But that neck, according to recent research, could have been both Tanystropheus' secret weapon
and undoing.

Two fossils of the long-necked marine reptile on display at the University of Zurich (Switzerland)
intrigued paleontologists by including complete skulls and some joined vertebrae, but nothing
more. It wasn't just an accident of conservation. The long-necked creatures had been decapitated
and their spines bitten.

(Related: Spinosaurus hunted underwater thanks to its "penguin" bones)

"There was always the idea that the necks of these two specimens, and especially the large one,
had been bitten off," explains paleontologist Stephan Spiekman of the State Museum of Natural
History in Stuttgart, Germany. But the idea was little more than an impression until Spiekman
began discussing fossils with his colleague Eudald Mujal, who had already studied bite marks on
Triassic animals.

The collaboration uncovered new clues about what happened to the unfortunate Tanystropheus
more than 242 million years ago, detailed in a study published in the journal Current Biology.

Discovered in 1852, Tanystropheus has long been a favorite among fossil aficionados and
paleontologists for its extraordinary neck. The living animal could reach a length of about six
meters, most of which were neck. The reptile had developed 13 ridiculously long vertebrae to
support its three-meter neck, longer than its torso and tail combined.

Although Tanystropheus was by no means the only prehistoric reptile to have developed a long
neck, its proportions and anatomy always seemed unusual. The reptile didn't seem to feel as
comfortable in the water as swimming plesiosaurs, which would eventually develop necks more
than nearly seven meters long.

For a while, experts hypothesized that Tanystropheus stood on the shore and dipped its neck in
the water to catch fish or squid, as some birds do today.

More recent analysis indicates that Tanystropheus was a skilled swimmer and probably hunted in
the water. However, such a stupendous neck came at a cost. The Tanystropheus had evolved to be
a poacher, but the reptile also lived among predators that hunted it.