在新西兰发现的具有 2.46 亿年历史的幻龙椎骨是南半球最古老的椎骨，它对早期海洋爬行动物的分散假说提出了挑战。 246-million-year-old nothosaur vertebra, the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere, found in New Zealand, challenges dispersal hypotheses of early sea reptiles.

在新西兰发现的具有 2.46 亿年历史的幻龙椎骨是迄今为止在南半球发现的最古老的椎骨，为该地区以前未知的早期海洋爬行动物记录提供了新的启示。 246 million-year-old nothosaur vertebra, found in New Zealand, is the oldest ever discovered in the Southern Hemisphere, shedding new light on the previously unknown record of early sea reptiles from the region. 幻龙是蛇颈龙的远古祖先，在恐龙出现之前，蛇颈龙曾统治海洋数百万年。 Nothosaurs were distant predecessors of plesiosaurs, which dominated the seas for millions of years before dinosaurs emerged. 这一发现挑战了有关早期海洋爬行动物在全球扩散的现有假设。 The discovery challenges existing hypotheses about the dispersal of early sea-going reptiles around the globe.