Ankylos

Ankylos is a genus of prehistoric marine reptiles belonging to the plesiosaur order. These long-necked marine lizards lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 90 to 70 million years ago. Fossils attributed to Ankylos have been discovered in various locations, primarily in North America and Europe.

The defining characteristics of Ankylos, like other plesiosaurs, include a flattened, streamlined body, four paddle-like limbs used for propulsion, and a relatively long neck, although the exact proportions varied among species. Their diet likely consisted of fish and other small marine organisms, which they would have captured using their sharp teeth. The anatomy of Ankylos suggests it was a capable swimmer, adapted to life in the open ocean.

The classification and specific evolutionary relationships of Ankylos within the plesiosaur group are subjects of ongoing scientific study and may vary depending on the interpretation of fossil evidence. The genus represents a segment of the diverse marine reptile fauna that dominated the Earth's oceans before the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.