A 240-million-year-old marine reptile with a very lengthy neck - likened to a "Chinese dragon" - has been depicted in full for the primary time.

The Dinocephalosaurus orientalis fossils had been first found in Guizhou province in southern China in 2003.

After discovering different, extra full specimens, scientists have now been in a position to current a full depiction of the creature.

The dinosaur, which lived through the Triassic interval, had 32 separate neck vertebrae, and flippered limbs.

A group of worldwide researchers discovered properly preserved fish in its abdomen area, suggesting it was very properly tailored to ocean life.

Nick Fraser, from National Museums Scotland, who was a part of the worldwide group that studied the fossil, stated: "This discovery allows us to see this remarkable long-necked animal in full for the very first time.

"It is but yet one more instance of the extraordinary world of the Triassic that continues to baffle palaeontologists.

"We are certain that it will capture imaginations across the globe due to its striking appearance, reminiscent of the long and snake-like mythical Chinese dragon."

The lengthy neck of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis has drawn comparability with the neck of Tanystropheus hydroides, one other marine reptile from the Middle Triassic interval of each Europe and China.

Both reptiles had been of comparable measurement and have a number of options of the cranium in frequent, nevertheless Dinocephalosaurus has many extra vertebrae each within the neck and within the torso, making it look rather more like a snake.

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Researchers from Scotland, Germany, America and China took half in a 10-year examine of Dinocephalosaurus orientalis on the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology, Beijing, a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Despite superficial similarities, Dinocephalosaurus was not carefully associated to the well-known long-necked plesiosaurs that developed round 40 million years later and that are thought to have been the inspiration for the Loch Ness monster.

Professor Li Chun from the institute stated the worldwide group "used newly discovered specimens housed at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to build on our existing knowledge of this animal".

"Among all of the extraordinary finds we have made in the Triassic of Guizhou province, Dinocephalosaurus probably stands out as the most remarkable."

The paper describing the animal seems in Earth And Environmental Science: Transactions Of The Royal Society Of Edinburgh.