Plesiosauria

"A snake drawn through the shell of a turtle"

"It cannot but be matter of regret, that so considerable a Rarity, the like whereof has not been observ'd before in this Island (to my knowledge) should be maim'd and imperfect, yet we may content our selves if enough be still visible to favour a Conjecture of what it has been."

"I am persuaded, it cannot be reckon'd Human, but seems to be a Crocodile or Porpoise."

"With the evidence of Peloneustes before us we now have an almost continuous chain connecting the genus Plesiosaurus with Pliosaurus, the course of evolution being directed towards a gradual increase in the size of the head, in the length of the mandibular symphysis, and the size and specialization of the teeth, accompanied by a shortening of the neck, which is accomplished by a reduction both in the number and length of the component vertebræ, and also by a tendency to a loose attachment between the centra, arches, and cervical ribs of the vertebræ, and a reduction in the relative length of the epipodial bones of the limbs. That Peloneustes philarchus is the direct ancestor of Pliosaurus is, however, improbable, seeing that the latter genus is already represented in the Oxford Clay. Finally, while Pliosaurus forms the culmination of the series just indicated, the genus Polyptychodon appears to have been the latest development of the series of which the middle term is represented by Cimoliosaurus."

"These unparalleled phenomena demand a Style and Title of their own. Throughout the Greek, and Latin, and all the derivative Languages living, float traditional notices of a supposed Chimaera, under the term Dragon. Backing this word through the more ancient Semitic Tongues, we come at last to its root in the most ancient of all, the blessed Hebrew. There, in the Inspired Annals of Earth, we read of the Gedolim Taninim, the Great Sea-Serpents, the frightful Dragons of Dead Times, the long-lost Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri, of which we treat."

"L’autre, c’est un serpent caché dans la carapace d’une tortue, le terrible ennemi du premier, le plesiosaurus!"

"That monster could have been no other than the Plesiosaurus, one of the most wonderful animals that has ever existed. Imagine a thing with the head of a lizard, the teeth of a crocodile, the neck of a swan, the trunk and tail of a quadruped, and the fins of a whale. Imagine a whale with its head and neck consisting of a serpent, with the strength of the former and the malignant fury of the latter, and then you will have the plesiosaurus. It was an aquatic animal, yet it had to remain near or on the surface of the water, while its long, serpent-like neck enabled it to reach its prey above or below with swift, far-reaching darts. Yet it had no armor, and could not have been at all a match for the ichthyosaurus."

"But it was different out upon the rose-tinted waters of the central lake. It boiled and heaved with strange life. Great slate-colored backs and high serrated dorsal fins shot up with a fringe of silver, and then rolled down into the depths again. The sand-banks far out were spotted with uncouth crawling forms, huge turtles, strange saurians, and one great flat creature like a writhing, palpitating mat of black greasy leather, which flopped its way slowly to the lake. Here and there high serpent heads projected out of the water, cutting swiftly through it with a little collar of foam in front, and a long swirling wake behind, rising and falling in graceful, swan-like undulations as they went. It was not until one of these creatures wriggled on to a sand-bank within a few hundred yards of us, and exposed a barrel-shaped body and huge flippers behind the long serpent neck, that Challenger, and Summerlee, who had joined us, broke out into their duet of wonder and admiration."Plesiosaurus! A fresh-water plesiosaurus!" cried Summerlee. "That I should have lived to see such a sight! We are blessed, my dear Challenger, above all zoologists since the world began!""

"During the Cretaceous Period many of the inland seas dried up, leaving the Plesiosaurs stranded without any fish. Just about that time Mother Nature scrapped the whole Age of Reptiles and called for a new deal. And you can see what she got. [Footnote: Here we see the working of another Law of Nature: No water, no fish.]"

"Since none of the creatures of the sea were taken on Noah's ark, there would be a strong possibility that some plesiosaurs and maybe even some ichthyosaurs survived the Flood. The violent and turbulent waters of the Flood would surely have killed and buried many of the sea creatures (over 90 percent of fossils found are of marine animals). However, if some had survived the Flood and lived on in the seas for years after, they could help account for many of the legends of sea monsters that have been gathered from all over the world. Remote as it may seem, there could even be the possibility that a few have survived till modern times. After all, it's much easier to believe that they could have survived for several thousand years rather than for nearly a hundred-million years."

"Michael Cole: [on Brodus Clay's entrance] A funky start to the Survivor Series. John "Bradshaw" Layfield: "Funky"'s a kind word. This is what happens when you cross a plesiosaur with Adele. This is the offspring. Michael: What are you talking about? JBL: A plesiosaur, from the Cretaceous period. Michael: No, I mean Adele's a singer, not a dancer. JBL: Okay, Kirstie Alley."

"[while Bowen fights a Plesiosaur] Servo: So that creature's probably endangered, right? Crow: Oh yeah, for sure. Last of its kind, a priceless treasure, his sweat cures cancer, blah blah blah. Kill it! Kill it!"