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Occitanosaurus
''Microcleidus'' is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile belonging to the Plesiosauroidea. The species has 40 neck vertebrae and a short tail of 28 vertebrae. Fossils of the genus have been found in France, the Posidonia Shale in Germany and Luxembourg, and the Alum Shale Formation of England. Description The type species, ''M. homalospondylus'', was the largest, measuring long and weighing . Other species were smaller: ''M. tournemirensis'' was about long and weighed , and ''M. melusinae'' was about long and weighed . Classification Species include: ''Microcleidus homalospondylus'' (Owen 1865) and ''Microcleidus macropterus'' (Seeley 1865). ''Occitanosaurus tournemirensis'' (originally ''"Plesiosaurus" tournemirensis''), was named by Sciau ''et al.'' in 1990, based on a nearly complete skeleton of an animal approximately 4 meters (13 ft) long.Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. Global interrelationships of Plesiosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microcleidus NHM
''Microcleidus'' is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile belonging to the Plesiosauroidea. The species has 40 neck vertebrae and a short tail of 28 vertebrae. Fossils of the genus have been found in France, the Posidonia Shale in Germany and Luxembourg, and the Alum Shale Formation of England. Description The type species, ''M. homalospondylus'', was the largest, measuring long and weighing . Other species were smaller: ''M. tournemirensis'' was about long and weighed , and ''M. melusinae'' was about long and weighed . Classification Species include: ''Microcleidus homalospondylus'' (Owen 1865) and ''Microcleidus macropterus'' (Seeley 1865). ''Occitanosaurus tournemirensis'' (originally ''"Plesiosaurus" tournemirensis''), was named by Sciau ''et al.'' in 1990, based on a nearly complete skeleton of an animal approximately 4 meters (13 ft) long.Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. Global interrelationships of Plesiosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occitanosaurus Tournemiensis
''Microcleidus'' is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile belonging to the Plesiosauroidea. The species has 40 neck vertebrae and a short tail of 28 vertebrae. Fossils of the genus have been found in France, the Posidonia Shale in Germany and Luxembourg, and the Alum Shale Formation of England. Description The type species, ''M. homalospondylus'', was the largest, measuring long and weighing . Other species were smaller: ''M. tournemirensis'' was about long and weighed , and ''M. melusinae'' was about long and weighed . Classification Species include: ''Microcleidus homalospondylus'' (Owen 1865) and ''Microcleidus macropterus'' (Seeley 1865). ''Occitanosaurus tournemirensis'' (originally ''"Plesiosaurus" tournemirensis''), was named by Sciau ''et al.'' in 1990, based on a nearly complete skeleton of an animal approximately 4 meters (13 ft) long.Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. Global interrelationships of Plesiosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elasmosauridae
Elasmosauridae is an extinct family of plesiosaurs, often called elasmosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and existed from the Hauterivian to the Maastrichtian stages of the Cretaceous, and represented one of the two groups of plesiosaurs present at the end of the Cretaceous alongside Polycotylidae. Their diet mainly consisted of crustaceans and molluscs. Description The earliest elasmosaurids were mid-sized, about . In the Late Cretaceous, elasmosaurids grew as large as , such as '' Styxosaurus'', ''Albertonectes'', and '' Thalassomedon''. Their necks were the longest of all the plesiosaurs, with anywhere between 32 and 76 (''Albertonectes'') cervical vertebrae. They weighed up to several tons. Classification Early three-family classification Though Cope had originally recognized ''Elasmosaurus'' as a plesiosaur, in an 1869 paper he placed it, with ''Cimoliasaurus'' and ''Crymocetus'', in a new order of sauropterygian reptiles. He named the group Streptos ... [...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 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 '' Occitanosaurus''. 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.Storrs 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Plesiosaur Genera
This list of plesiosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Plesiosauria, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful ('' nomen dubium''), or were not formally published ('' nomen nudum''), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered plesiosaurs. The list currently includes 201 genera. Scope and terminology There is no official, canonical list of plesiosaur genera but one of the most thorough attempts can be found on the Plesiosauria section of Mikko Haaramo's Phylogeny Archive; also pertinent is the Plesiosaur Genera section at Adam Stuart Smith's Plesiosaur Directory.See Smith, ''Plesiosaur Genera''. Naming conventions and terminology follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Technical terms used include: * Junior synonym: A name which describes the same taxon as a previo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pistosaurus
''Pistosaurus'' (''pistos'' in Greek meaning 'credible' and ''sauros'' 'lizard') is an extinct genus of aquatic sauropterygian reptile closely related to plesiosaurs. Fossils have been found in France and Germany, and date to the Middle Triassic. It contains a single species, ''Pistosaurus longaevus. Pistosaurus'' is known as the oldest "subaquatic flying" reptile on earth. The skull of ''Pistosaurus'' generally resembles that of other Triassic sauropterygians. However, there are several synapomorphies that make ''Pistosaurus'' distinguished: the long, slender, snout; the possession of splint-like nasals that are excluded from the external naris; and the posterior extension of the premaxilla to the frontals. Based on synapomorphies such as the small nasals size and the presence of interpterygoid vacuity, ''Pistosaurus'' is more closely related to Plesiosauria than to ''Nothosaurus''. ''Pistosaurus'' is often mistaken with ''Nothosaurus'' and Plesiosauria. ''Nothosaurus'' belo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seeleyosaurus Guilelmiimperatoris
''Seeleyosaurus'' is an extinct genus of plesiosaur that was initially placed within the genus ''Plesiosaurus'' in 1895Dames, H. W. (1895). Die Plesiosaurier der süddeutschen Liasformation. ''Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin'' 2:1-83 and was given its own genus in 1940.White, T. E. (1940). Holotype of ''Plesiosaurus longirostris'' Blake and classification of the plesiosaurs. ''Journal of Paleontology'' 14(5):451-467 Two species were known: the type, ''S. guilelmiimperatoris'', and the now obsolete species ''S. holzmadensis'', which has since been absorbed into ''S. guilelmiimperatoris''. The holotype was MB.R.1992, a large almost complete skeleton from the Upper Lias (Toarcian) Lias Group Formations of Württemberg, Germany. There seems to be the impression of a rhomboidal flap of skin in a vertical plane; if so, many plesiosaurs may have been equipped in this way. The holotype was destroyed in 1945 (WWII) and only a cast exists today. A secon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thalassiodracon Hawkinsii
''Thalassiodracon'' (tha-LAS-ee-o-DRAY-kon) is an extinct genus of plesiosauroid from the Pliosauridae that was alive during the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic (Rhaetian-Hettangian) and is known exclusively from the Lower Lias of England. The type and only species, is ''Thalassiodracon'' (''Plesiosaurus'') ''hawkinsi'' (Owen, 1838). Owen, R. (1838). A description of Viscount Cole's specimen of '' Plesiosaurus macrocephalus'' ( Conybeare). ''Proceedings of the Geological Society of London 2'', 663-666. Discovery and naming ''Thalassiodracon hawkinsi'' is known from a number of complete skeletons (lectotype: BMNH 2018) acquired by the fossil collector Thomas Hawkins in Somerset, England during the early 1830s, before 1834. Hawkins, an eccentric Pre-Adamite who had his fossils heavily restaured and illustrated by distinguished artists in expensive editions to propagate his ideas, named these ''Plesiosaurus triotarsostinus'' in 1834 and ''Hezatarostinus'' in 1840 but these names are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show how much they have changed, so many differing evolutionary trees can be consistent with the same cladogram. A cladogram uses lines that branch off in different directions ending at a clade, a group of organisms with a last common ancestor. There are many shapes of cladograms but they all have lines that branch off from other lines. The lines can be traced back to where they branch off. These branching off points represent a hypothetical ancestor (not an actual entity) which can be inferred to exhibit the traits shared among the terminal taxa above it. This hypothetical ancestor might then provide clues about the order of evolution of various features, adaptation, and other evolutionary narratives about ance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeonectrus Rostratus
''Archaeonectrus'' is an extinct genus of pliosaur from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) of what is now southeastern England. The type species is ''Archaeonectrus'' (originally ''"Plesiosaurus"'') ''rostratus'', first named by Sir Richard Owen in 1865, which was moved to its own genus by N.I. Novozhilov in 1964. It was a relatively small plesiosaur, measuring long. Classification The cladogram below shows ''Archaeonectrus'' phylogenetic position among other plesiosaurs, following Benson ''et al.'' (2012). See also * Timeline of plesiosaur research * List of plesiosaur genera This list of plesiosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Plesiosauria, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered inv ... References * Sepkoski, J.J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". ''Bulletins of American Paleontology'' 363: 1-560. External links ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosauroidea
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 wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydrorion Brachypterygius
''Hydrorion'' (meaning 'water hunter') is a genus of plesiosaur from the Toarcian Age of the Lower Jurassic. It is only known from multiple specimens, all discovered in the Posidonia Shale of southwestern Germany. The only species of ''Hydrorion'' is ''H. brachypterygius'', which was originally described as a species of ''Plesiosaurus'' and then ''Microcleidus''. It was a relatively small plesiosaur, measuring long and weighing . See also * Timeline of plesiosaur research This timeline of plesiosaur research is a chronologically ordered list of important fossil discoveries, controversies of interpretation, taxonomic revisions, and cultural portrayals of plesiosaurs, an order of marine reptiles that flourished duri ... References Jurassic plesiosaurs of Europe Fossils of Germany Sauropterygian genera {{plesiosaur-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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