pyraulas

Pyraulas is a genus of extinct marine reptiles belonging to the plesiosaur order. These long-necked marine creatures lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 70 to 66 million years ago. Fossils of Pyraulas have been found in various locations, most notably in North America.

The genus Pyraulas is characterized by its relatively small size compared to some of its larger plesiosaur relatives. Its skeletal structure indicates adaptations for a predatory lifestyle, with a streamlined body and powerful flippers for swimming. The skull of Pyraulas housed numerous small, sharp teeth, suggesting a diet of fish and other small marine organisms. Like other plesiosaurs, Pyraulas possessed a long neck, which it likely used to strike at prey in the water.

The exact phylogenetic position of Pyraulas within the plesiosaur group is still debated among paleontologists, but it is generally considered to be a member of the elasmosaurid family. The discovery of Pyraulas fossils has contributed to our understanding of plesiosaur diversity and evolution during the final stages of the Cretaceous period. The extinction of Pyraulas, along with the majority of marine reptiles, coincided with the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.