Definition of "plesiosaur" []

• A large extinct marine reptile having paddlelike limbs that was common in Europe and North America during the Mesozoic Era. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Aquatic creature, air-breathing, cold-blooded, fish-eating, huge body, long neck, small head — did you know the word plesiosaur means ‘next to a lizard’?"
• "According to a report in National Geographic News, bones of the prehistoric reptile, known as a plesiosaur, were found in Japan in 1968."
• "David is right: unfortunately it's the image that leaps to mind for most people whenever 'plesiosaur' is mentioned, and this is despite the fact that there aren't really any accounts from Loch Ness that sound in the least bit plesiosaur-like."