Name: Concavispina ‭(‬Concave spine‭)‬.
Phonetic: Kon-kah-ve-spy-nah.
Named By: Zhao Li-Jun,‭ ‬Liu Jun,‭ ‬Li Chun‭ & ‬He Tao‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Thalattosauria,Thalattosauroidea.
Species: C.‭ ‬biseridens‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: 3.64‭ ‬meters long for the holotype.
Time period: Carnian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: One individual that is represented by a skull and almost complete post cranial skeleton.

       Like all other thalattosaurs,‭ ‬Concavispina was a quadrupedal marine reptile that lived on coastlines and hunted in the ocean for its food.‭ ‬Propulsion‭ ‬in the water was provided by‭ ‬undulating its laterally compressed tail in a side to side motion rather than relying upon paddling with the limbs.‭ ‬Concavispina is noted for having broad‭ ‬teeth in the front portion of its mouth,‭ ‬while pointed teeth at the rear,‭ ‬suggesting a specialisation in softer prey like,‭ ‬jellyfish,‭ ‬cephalopods and fish.‭
       With a confirmed length of over three and a half meters long,‭ ‬Concavispina is one of the largest thalattosaurs so far discovered.‭ ‬At the time of its description,‭ ‬the only thalattosaur that may be larger than Concavispina is Miodentosaurus.‭ ‬Concavispina is thought to be closely related to the thalattosaur Xinpusaurus‭ (‬both have a maxilla that curves upwards towards the front‭)‬,‭ ‬though the latter has a better developed tail for swimming than Concavispina.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new thalattosaur,‭ ‬Concavispina biseridens gen.‭ ‬et sp.‭ ‬nov.‭ ‬from Guanling,‭ ‬Guizhou,‭ ‬China,‭ ‬-‭ ‬Zhao Li-Jun,‭ ‬Liu Jun,‭ ‬Li Chun‭ & ‬He Tao‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.


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