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Microcleidid
Microcleididae is an extinct family of basal plesiosauroid plesiosaurs from the Early Jurassic (middle Sinemurian to late Toarcian stages) of France, Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Currently, the oldest and the most known microcleidid is '' Eretmosaurus'' from the middle Sinemurian of the United Kingdom. Microcleididae was formally named and described by Roger B. J. Benson, Mark Evans and Patrick S. Druckenmiller in 2012. History and Phylogeny Großman (2007) referred informally to "microcleidid elasmosaurs", a clade comprising the three taxa referred to the Microcleididae by Benson ''et al.'' (2012). Ketchum and Benson (2010) found the traditional "microcleidid" genera to nest within a monophyletic Plesiosauridae, in a close position to ''Plesiosaurus''. However, Ketchum and Benson (2011) performed a phylogenetic analysis which found a monospecific Plesiosauridae, and a monophyletic Microcleididae. Smith ''et al.'' (in press) described a new "microcleidid" '' Lusonec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosauroid
Plesiosauroidea (; Greek: 'near, close to' and 'lizard') is an extinct clade of carnivorous marine reptiles. They have the snake-like longest neck to body ratio of any reptile. Plesiosauroids are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. After their discovery, some plesiosauroids were said to have resembled "a snake threaded through the shell of a turtle", although they had no shell. Plesiosauroidea appeared at the Early Jurassic Period (late Sinemurian stage) and thrived until the K-Pg extinction, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The oldest confirmed plesiosauroid is ''Plesiosaurus'' itself, as all younger taxa were recently found to be pliosauroids. While they were Mesozoic diapsid reptiles that lived at the same time as dinosaurs, they did not belong to the latter. Gastroliths are frequently found associated with plesiosaurs. History of discovery The first complete plesiosauroid skeletons were found in England by Mary Anning, in the early 19th century, and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosaurus
''Plesiosaurus'' (Greek: ' ('), near to + ' ('), lizard) is a genus of extinct, large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the Early Jurassic. It is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England. It is distinguishable by its small head, long and slender neck, broad turtle-like body, a short tail, and two pairs of large, elongated paddles. It lends its name to the order Plesiosauria, of which it is an early, but fairly typical member. It contains only one species, the type, ''Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus''. Other species once assigned to this genus, including ''P. brachypterygius'', ''P. guilielmiimperatoris'', and ''P. tournemirensis'' have been reassigned to new genera, such as '' Hydrorion'', '' Seeleyosaurus'' and '' Microcleidus''. Discovery The first complete skeleton of ''Plesiosaurus'' was discovered by early paleontologist and fossil hunter Mary Anning in Sinemurian (Early Jurassic)-age rocks of the lower Lias Group in December 1823 near Lyme R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eretmosaurus
''Eretmosaurus'' (meaning "oar lizard") is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Early and Middle Jurassic of England and Russia. Two species are known: ''E. rugosus'' and ''E. dubius''. History ''Eretmosaurus rugosus'' The holotype of ''E. rugosus'' consists of vertebrae, girdles, and limb bones and was discovered along Aust Cliff, where the Westbury Formation outcrops. Specimen BRSMB Cb 2458 was also assigned to the species by Owen (1840). This specimen later became the syntype and it consisted of several vertebrae that had been discovered at different locations in the Blue Lias in Gloucestershire. Owen (1840) was the first to describe the specimens, which were named as ''Plesiosaurus rugosus''.R. Owen. (1840). Report on British fossil reptiles. ''Report of the Ninth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Reports on the State of Science'' 43-126 Later, Owen (1865) described a headless skeleton discovered in the Ammonites stellaris zone of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosaurus Dolichodeirus
''Plesiosaurus'' (Greek: ' ('), near to + ' ('), lizard) is a genus of extinct, large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the Early Jurassic. It is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias Group, Lias of England. It is distinguishable by its small head, long and slender neck, broad turtle-like body, a short tail, and two pairs of large, elongated paddles. It lends its name to the order Plesiosauria, of which it is an early, but fairly typical member. It contains only one species, the type species, type, ''Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus''. Other species once assigned to this genus, including ''P. brachypterygius'', ''P. guilielmiimperatoris'', and ''P. tournemirensis'' have been reassigned to new genera, such as ''Hydrorion'', ''Seeleyosaurus'' and ''Occitanosaurus, Microcleidus''. Discovery The first complete skeleton of ''Plesiosaurus'' was discovered by early paleontologist and fossil hunter Mary Anning in Sinemurian (Early Jurassic)-age rocks of the lower L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptoclidus Eurymerus
''Cryptoclidus'' ( ) is a genus of plesiosaur reptile from the Middle Jurassic period of England, France, and Cuba. Discovery ''Cryptoclidus'' was a plesiosaur whose specimens include adult and juvenile skeletons, and remains which have been found in various degrees of preservation in England, Northern France, Russia, and South America. Its name, meaning "hidden clavicles", refer to its small, practically invisible clavicles buried in its front limb girdle. The type species was initially described as ''Plesiosaurus eurymerus''. The specific name "wide femur" refers to the forelimb, which was mistaken for a hindlimb at the time. It was moved to its own genus ''Cryptoclidus'' by Seeley (1892). Fossils of ''Cryptoclidus'' have been found in the Oxford Clay of Cambridgeshire, England. The dubious species ''Cryptoclidus beaugrandi'' is known from Kimmeridgian-age deposits in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. ''Cryptoclidus vignalensis'', which is now considered undiagnostic, hails from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elasmosaurus Platyurus
''Elasmosaurus'' () is a genus of plesiosaur that lived in North America during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, at about 80.6 to 77million years ago. The first specimen was discovered in 1867 near Fort Wallace, Kansas, US, and was sent to the American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, who named it ''E.platyurus'' in 1868. The generic name means "thin-plate reptile", and the specific name means "flat-tailed". Cope originally reconstructed the skeleton of ''Elasmosaurus'' with the skull at the end of the tail, an error which was made light of by the paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh, and became part of their "Bone Wars" rivalry. Only one incomplete ''Elasmosaurus'' skeleton is definitely known, consisting of a fragmentary skull, the spine, and now lost pectoral and pelvic girdles, and a single species is recognized today; other species are now considered invalid or have been moved to other genera. A fragmentary specimen from Germany may belong to this genu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosaur
The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period (geology), Period, possibly in the Rhaetian stage, about 203 million years ago. They became especially common during the Jurassic Period, thriving until their disappearance due to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 million years ago. They had a worldwide oceanic distribution, and some species at least partly inhabited freshwater environments. Plesiosaurs were among the first fossil reptiles discovered. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, scientists realised how distinctive their build was and they were named as a separate order in 1835. The first plesiosaurian genus, the eponymous ''Plesiosaurus'', was named in 1821. Since then, more than a hundred valid species have been described. In the early twenty-first cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elasmosaur
Elasmosauridae, often called elasmosaurs or elasmosaurids, is an extinct family (biology), family of plesiosaurs that lived from the Hauterivian Stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Early Cretaceous to the Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period (c. 130 to 66 mya (unit), mya). The taxon was initially erected in 1869 by Edward Drinker Cope to include the type genus ''Elasmosaurus'' with the related ''Cimoliasaurus'', although he did not argued in detail why. Over the following years, many authors recognized this classification on the basis of predominantly postcranial features, becoming one of the three groups in which plesiosaurs were often classified during the 19th century, along with the Pliosauridae and the Plesiosauridae. However, most of these traits led to many genera since recognized as belonging to other plesiosaur families being classified as elasmosaurids. Another family historically considered as distinct, the Cimoliasauridae, has since 2009 b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seeleyosaurus
''Seeleyosaurus'' is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from Germany and possibly also Russia. Two species were known: the type, ''S. guilelmiimperatoris'', and the now obsolete species ''S. holzmadensis'',White, T. E. (1940). Holotype of ''Plesiosaurus longirostris'' Blake and classification of the plesiosaurs. ''Journal of Paleontology'' 14(5):451-467 which has since been absorbed into ''S. guilelmiimperatoris''. Discovery and naming The holotype is MB.R.1992, a large almost complete skeleton from the Upper Lias (Toarcian) Lias Group Formations of Württemberg, Germany. It was offered for sale by Bernard Hauff and it was purchased by the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart in August 1893.Dames, H. W. (1895). Die Plesiosaurier der süddeutschen Liasformation. ''Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin'' 2:1-83 It preserved soft tissue that was painted over around ten years later and a cast of the holotype was described in by Ketchum & Benson (2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lusonectes
''Lusonectes'' (meaning " Portuguese swimmer") is an extinct genus of microcleidid plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) São Gião Formation of Portugal. Etymology The generic name is derived from the prefix ''Luso'', from Latin ''Lusitania'' referring to Portugal, and ''nektes'' ("swimmer" in Greek). The specific name honors Henri Émile Sauvage, who was the first person to describe the holotype specimen. Discovery and naming The holotype, MG33, a partial skull and articulated mandible, was discovered possibly by geologist Paul Choffat and his team during the 19th century within rocks from the São Gião Formation near Murtede, Portugal. Henri Émile Sauvage (1898) described MG33 as belonging to an unknown species of ''Plesiosaurus''. Other authors, including Bardet ''et al.'' (2008) and Ruiz−Omeñaca ''et al.'' (2009) also classified MG33 within ''Plesiosaurus''. Castanhinha and Mateus (2007) and Smith & Vincent (2010) instead classified the specimen as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leptocleidus Superstes
''Leptocleidus'' is an extinct genus of plesiosaur, belonging to the family Leptocleididae.Smith AS, Dyke GJ. 2008. The skull of the giant predatory pliosaur ''Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni'': implications for plesiosaur phylogenetics. ''Naturwissenschaften'' e-published 2008. It was a small plesiosaur, measuring only up to . Discovery In short, the term ''Leptocleidus'' means "slender clavicle". It comes from a merge of the Greek words ''λεπτοσ'', meaning "slender" and ''κλειδ'' (also spelled ''κλεισ'') meaning clavicle. ''Leptocleidus'' is known from the following sediments: *''L. capensis'' is known from the Sundays River Formation (upper Valanginian age), Cape Province, South Africa. *''L. clemai'' found near Kalbarri in the Carnarvon Basin (Hauterivian-Barremian age) Western Australia. *''L. superstes'' is known from the Upper Weald Clay (Barremian age), Sussex, England. A specimen from the Vectis Formation (lower Aptian age), Isle of Wight, found in 1995 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pliosaurus Brachydeirus
''Pliosaurus'' (meaning 'more lizard') is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages) of Europe and South America. This genus has contained many species in the past but recent reviews found only six (''P. brachydeirus'' (type species), ''P. carpenteri'', ''P. funkei'', ''P. kevani'', ''P. rossicus'' and ''P. westburyensis'') to be definitively valid. One Patagonian species ''P. patagonicus'' likely belongs to a different genus within Brachaucheninae. Currently, ''P. brachyspondylus'' and ''P. macromerus'' are considered dubious, while ''P. portentificus'' is considered undiagnostic. Most European species of ''Pliosaurus'' would have measured around long and weighed over , though some potential specimens indicate a much larger size. Species of this genus are differentiated from other pliosaurids based on seven autapomorphies, including teeth that are triangular in cross section. Their diet would have included fish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
