Abstract
Paleontology The Triassic-Jurassic (T-J) extinction occurred in the midst of the Mesozoic Era (about 65 to 250 million years ago). It provides opportunities to explore why species perish or survive such events. Wintrich et al. describe a previously unknown species of Triassic plesiosaur with characteristics that may explain why this single sauropterygian clade survived the T-J extinction. Its bone histology points to a high metabolic rate, facilitating fast and efficient swimming for living as an open-sea predator. It seems that plesiosaurs survived because they lived in the more buffered open sea, whereas their cousins perished in less buffered coastal habitats. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.1701144 (2017).
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