Plesiosaurus
The Plesiosaurus model.
Scientific classification
Unrecognized taxon (fix):	Reptilia
Order:	Plesiosauria
Superfamily:	Plesiosauroidea
Family:	Plesiosauridae
Genus:	Plesiosaurus Conybeare, 1821
Species:	P. dolichodeirus
Binomial name
Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus Conybeare, 1824

Illustration of one of Anning's finds: Plesiosaurus macrocephalus

Plesiosaurus was a large fossil marine reptile, a genus in the order Plesiosauria.

The first specimen discovered by Mary Anning in 1820-21 was missing its skull. She found it on the 'Jurassic Coast' of Lyme Regis, Dorset, England. In 1823 she found another one, this time complete with its skull. The name Plesiosaurus was given by the Rev. William Conybeare.

Plesiosaurus was a predator, living mostly on fish and belemnites. It would swim through schools of fish and use its long neck and sharp teeth to snap them up.