What’s a ‘Tanystropheus’?

Good tidings and well-wishes!

The answer to the question posed by the heading of this post is located here.

After reading this article, you may wonder why I display images of proboscideans (elephants and kin) atop my blog and in my comments-section avatar rather than Tanystropheus itself. This phenomenon is due to the simple fact that I personally find them to be more interesting (though Tanystropheus is wickedly awesome by any account as well…).

So why didn’t I entitle this publication “The Theatrical Mastodon” or “The Theatrical Amebelodon”? Well for starters, I’m currently doing a lot of work on Triassic diapsids (specifically phytosaurs) here in Tucumcari. But less scientifically, I, like Tanystropheus, am a bizarre Italian who tends to perplex people and overdo things. I also happen to love fish and seafood of any sort.

And there you have it!!

May the fossil record continue to enchant us all!