Eterissuch

Eterissuch is a genus of extinct prehistoric marine reptiles belonging to the order Plesiosauria. These large, long-necked creatures inhabited the oceans during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 80 to 75 million years ago. Eterissuch fossils have been discovered primarily in the marine deposits of North America.

The genus Eterissuch is characterized by a distinctive vertebral structure and a generally robust build. Like other plesiosaurs, Eterissuch possessed a small skull at the end of a very long neck, a broad body, and four large flippers adapted for swimming. Their diet likely consisted of fish and other small marine organisms, which they would have caught using their powerful jaws and sharp teeth.

The exact phylogenetic placement of Eterissuch within Plesiosauria is a subject of ongoing scientific research, but it is generally considered to be a member of the Elasmosauridae family, a diverse group of long-necked plesiosaurs. The discovery of Eterissuch remains has contributed to our understanding of the diversity and evolution of marine reptiles during the Mesozoic Era, particularly in the Western Interior Seaway, a vast shallow sea that covered much of North America during the Cretaceous.