Fig. 1: Comparison of the drag coefficient of derived plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs and cetaceans.
From: Large size in aquatic tetrapods compensates for high drag caused by extreme body proportions
a Total drag coefficient computed for the full models including the limbs (‘body + limbs’, circles) and the limbless models (‘body’, squares). Average (point) and range (bar) shown for calculations at Re = 5 × 106–107. The derived short-necked plesiosaurs are highlighted in orange; the parvipelvian ichthyosaurs in blue and the extant cetaceans in red. A basal plesiosaur included as a reference is highlighted in purple. b Representative two-dimensional plots of the flow velocity magnitude at Re = 5 × 106 (inlet velocity of 5 ms−1) in lateral view. For dorsal view see Supplementary Fig. 1. Images of Tursiops and the three ichthyosaurs modified from Gutarra et al.29.
