Dolichosauridae

Dolichosauridae (from Latin, dolichos = "long" and Greek sauros= lizard) is a family of Cretaceous aquatic lizards. They are widely considered to be the earliest and most primitive members of Mosasauria, though some researchers have recovered them as more closely related to snakes.

== Description == Dolichosaurus was a small marine squamate at about 0.5 to 1 meter in total length. Coniasaurus was similarly sized at about 0.5 meters in length. They were elongated (especially apparent in the neck) marine lizards with reduced limbs and small, thin heads. Dolichosaurs may have occupied a niche similar to the earlier nothosaurs and modern sea snakes, in using their thin heads to feed in crevices and narrow spaces along coral reefs and rocky shores. One of the earliest dolichosaurs, Kaganaias from Barremian, probably lived in freshwater environment unlike other members in the family. Despite their aquatic nature, fluctuations in sea level did not appear to have any significant effects on dolichosaurid evolution during the Cenomanian and Turonian.