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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] |
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma (million years ago), and ends at the start of the Middle Jurassic 174.1 Ma. Certain rocks of marine origin of this age in Europe are called "Lias Group, Lias" and that name was used for the period, as well, in 19th-century geology. In southern Germany rocks of this age are called Black Jurassic. Origin of the name Lias There are two possible origins for the name Lias: the first reason is it was taken by a geologist from an England, English quarryman's dialect pronunciation of the word "layers"; secondly, sloops from north Cornwall, Cornish ports such as Bude would sail across the Bristol Channel to the Vale of Glamorgan to load up with rock from coastal limestone quarries (lias limestone from S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosauria
The Plesiosauria (; Greek: πλησίος, ''plesios'', meaning "near to" and ''sauros'', meaning "lizard") or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic 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 vali ... [...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] |
Plesiosauridae
The Plesiosauridae are a monophyletic group of plesiosaurs.Ketchum, H. F., and Benson, R. B. J., 2010. "Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses". ''Biological Reviews'', v. 85, p. 361-392 A family Plesiosauridae was first named by John Edward Gray John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ... in 1825.John Edward Gray, 1825, "A Synopsis of the Genera of Reptiles and Amphibia, with a Description of some new Species", ''Annals of Philosophy'' 10: 193–217 References {{Taxonbar, from=Q3498250 Plesiosaurs Jurassic plesiosaurs Hettangian first appearances Late Jurassic extinctions Taxa named by John Edward Gray it:Plesiosauridae ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratesaurus Taylori
''Stratesaurus'' is an extinct genus of small-bodied rhomaleosaurid plesiosaur known from the Early Jurassic period (most likely earliest Hettangian stage) of the United Kingdom. It contains a single species, ''S. taylori''. It was a small plesiosaur, with a skull length of and a body length of . Discovery ''Stratesaurus'' is known from the holotype specimen OUMNH J.10337, a dorsoventrally crushed but nearly complete skull, and three-dimensionally preserved partial postcranial skeleton including anterior cervical and pectoral vertebrae, a partial hindlimb and ilium. GSM 26035 was referred to ''S. taylori'' because it shares one autapomorphy and other characters with the holotype specimen. It consists of a skull and some anterior cervical vertebrae. AGT 11 was also referred to ''S. taylori''. Although it does nor show the autapomorphies of ''S. taylori'', it is indistinguishable from both OUMNH J.10337 and GSM 26035, and it is possible to distinguish it ... [...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] |
Macroplata Tenuiceps
''Macroplata'' (meaning "big plate") is an extinct genus of Early Jurassic rhomaleosaurid plesiosaur which grew up to in length and weighed up to . Like other plesiosaurs, ''Macroplata'' probably lived on a diet of fish, using its sharp needle-like teeth to catch prey. Its shoulder bones were fairly large, indicating a powerful forward stroke for fast swimming. ''Macroplata'' also had a relatively long neck, twice the length of the skull, in contrast to pliosaurs. A different species, ''Macroplata longirostris'' (previously called ''Plesiosaurus longirostris''), which lived somewhat later, during the Toarcian stage, was also included in the genus; however, in 2011, Benson ''et al.'' reclassified it as a pliosaurid in the genus ''Hauffiosaurus'', ''H. longirostris''. Description ''Macroplata'' bore an elongated skull, with more than half of its cranial length taken up by a roughly triangular snout. The premaxillae (front upper jaw bones) bear six teeth each, with the first being ... [...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] |
Anningasaura Lymense
''Anningasaura'' is an extinct genus of basal plesiosaur. It is known from a single type species, ''A. lymense'', discovered in Early Jurassic rocks of Lyme Regis in the United Kingdom. Discovery ''Anningasaura'' is known only from the holotype specimen NHMUK 49202, which consists of a complete skull, palate, and mandible, with eight associated cervical vertebrae, including the atlas-axis complex. The partial skeleton came from a juvenile plesiosaur. It was originally referred to ''"Plesiosaurus" macrocephalus'' by Charles William Andrews in 1896, which is otherwise known only from the very young type specimen NHMUK OR1336. NHMUK 49202 was collected at Lyme Regis, of Dorset, from the Hettangian to early Sinemurian-aged beds of the Lower Lias Group. Description NHMUK 49202 possesses plesiomorphic characters, including premaxillae that do not separate the frontals on the midline, narrow cranioquadrate passages and the lack of a constricting groove ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhomaleosauridae
Rhomaleosauridae is a family of plesiosaurs from the Earliest Jurassic to the latest Middle Jurassic (Hettangian to Callovian stages) of Europe, North America, South America and possibly Asia. Most rhomaleosaurids are known from England, many specifically from lower Blue Lias deposits that date back to the earliest Jurassic, just at the boundary with the Triassic. In fact, to date only two undisputed rhomaleosaurids were named from outside Europe - the closely related '' Borealonectes russelli'' and '' Maresaurus coccai'' from Canada and Argentina, respectively. These two species are also the only Middle Jurassic representatives of the family. Rhomaleosauridae was formally named by Kuhn in 1961, originally proposed to include '' Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni'' and its relatives, which have short necks and large heads relatively to plesiosauroids like ''Elasmosaurus'' and ''Plesiosaurus'', but longer necks and smaller heads relatively to advanced pliosaurids like ''Pliosaurus'' and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attenborosaurus Conybeari
''Attenborosaurus'' is an extinct genus of pliosaurid from the Early Jurassic of Dorset, England. The type species is ''A. conybeari''. The genus is named after David Attenborough, the species after William Conybeare. History The original remains of the holotype, specimen PV OR 38525, were discovered in Charmouth, Dorset, England in 1880 and was described in 1881 before being housed at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery, where a cast was taken of NHMUK R1339 and sent to the Natural History Museum in London by William Johnson Sollas, , where it stayed until the holotype was destroyed in November 1940, during World War II, leaving only plaster casts of the remains to be studied; the type cast (specimen NHMUK R1339) is now housed at the Natural History Museum, London along with a referred specimen (specimen NHMUK OR40140/R1360; includes no head, neck or tail, most of the body, ribs and all flippers except for the front right) and another partial specimen, including a skull and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
