Artist's reconstruction shows the Triassic Period marine reptile Hupehsuchus nanchangensis, based on fossils unearthed in China's Hubei Province. Hupehsuchus is believed to have been a filter-feeder, akin to some of today's baleen whales. "Baleen whales are mammals and Hupehsuchus are reptiles. Marine reptiles asserted themselves. Two other ancient marine reptiles - Paludidraco, which lived about 230 million years ago, and Morturneria, which lived about 70 million years ago - appear to have used some type of filter-feeding.

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Persons: Shi Shunyi, Long Cheng, Handout, Hupehsuchus, Mike Benton, Cheng, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, University of Bristol, BMC, Wuhan Center, China Geological Survey, Hupehsuchus, Thomson Locations: Hubei Province, Hupehsuchus, England, Siberia, Washington