When Reptiles were at their Weirdest

Throughout the Mesozoic or the Dinosaur era the seas were occupied by giant marine reptiles and many of them were iconic like the long necked plesiosaurs or the very fish like Ichthyosaurs. However, these creatures didn't appear out of nowhere and evolved over many millions of years. Early in the Triassic and early in these creatures evolution they had many relatives that evolved in a completely different way. Some adapted in a very predictable way to the harsh environment they found themselves in but others evolved to be bizarre forms. To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/MothLightMedia To donate to my PayPal (thank you): https://www.paypal.me/mothlightmedia To buy merchandise: teespring.com/en-GB/stores/moth-light... Email: [email protected] If I have used artwork that belongs to you but have neglected to credit it this will just be because I was unable to find one. If this has happened please contact me and I will add a credit. Some Art work has been altered for the purposes of bettering them for video format; these alterations were done independent from the artists who created the original work, so they are not responsible for any inaccuracies that could have occurred with the changes being made. Sources: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/130/4/635/2630923?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S003101829900067X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982223004669 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098222300146X https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012825226001534 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818122000388 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0031018281900924 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4245812/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7012838/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13358-025-00396-z https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4938232/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12232927/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330599857_Early_Triassic_marine_reptile_representing_the_oldest_record_of_unusually_small_eyes_in_reptiles_indicating_non-visual_prey_detection