''Hauffiosaurus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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-J ...

(early Toarcian stage)

pliosaurid Pliosauridae is a family of plesiosaurian marine reptiles from the Latest Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous ( Rhaetian to Turonian stages) of Australia, Europe, North America and South America. The family is more inclusive than the archetypa ...

plesiosaur 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 ...

known from

Holzmaden Holzmaden is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany that lies between Stuttgart and Ulm. Holzmaden is 4 km south-east from Kirchheim unter Teck and 19 km south-east of Esslingen am Neckar. The A 8 runs south from Holzmaden. The town an ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and from

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was first named by Frank Robin O’Keefe in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is ''Hauffiosaurus zanoni''. In 2011, two additional species were assigned to this genus: ''H. longirostris'' and ''H. tomistomimus''.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

specimen of ''Hauffiosaurus'', housed in the Hauff Museum, is an almost complete and articulated

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

, found from the Posidonien-Schiefer, dating to early

Toarcian The Toarcian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 182.7 Ma (million years ago) and 174.1 Ma. It follows the Pliensbachian and is followed by the Aalenian. The Toarcian ...

stage of the

. The

specimen preserved in a single block of the original matrix, exposed in

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek language, Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. Th ...

view. The body outline visible around the specimen is an artifact of preparation, not preservation; no remains of soft tissue were preserved. The skeleton was discovered during the early 19th Century, in beds of the famous Posidonien-Schiefer

lagerstätte A Lagerstätte (, from ''Lager'' 'storage, lair' '' Stätte'' 'place'; plural ''Lagerstätten'') is a sedimentary deposit that exhibits extraordinary fossils with exceptional preservation—sometimes including preserved soft tissues. These for ...

, Baden-

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

, in southeastern Germany. However, it was not recognized as a valid

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

, and no thorough description of the

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

was made until 2001. ''Hauffiosaurus zanoni'' is a plesiosaur of medium size, measuring . The skull measures about along the midline. The holotype is an adult individual, but incomplete fusion of the

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectoralis ...

and

pelvic The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton). The ...

girdle indicate it is not an old adult. The specimen is displayed at the Urwelt-Museum Hauff, Holzmaden. The exact

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

position of ''Hauffiosaurus'' within the Plesiosauria has yet to be resolved, though Vincent (2011) states that it may "reasonably be placed within the Pliosauroidea". A second species, ''H. tomistomimus'', was named by Roger B. J. Benson, Hilary F. Ketchum, Leslie F. Noè and Marcela Gómez-Pérez in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. It is known from the

and only specimen, MMUM LL 8004, an almost complete, three-dimensionally preservedand and articulated

, found from the ''

Hildoceras bifrons ''Hildoceras bifrons'' is an extinct species of ammonite in the family Hildoceratidae. It dates from about 175 million years ago in the Early Jurassic when it was both widespread and common. Fossils have been found in North Africa and Europe, in ...

'' Zone (181.2–180.7 Ma) of the Alum Shale Member,

Whitby Mudstone Formation The Whitby Mudstone is a Toarcian (Early Jurassic; ''Falciferum''-''Bifrons'' in regional chronostratigraphy) geological formation in Yorkshire and Worcestershire, England.Toarcian The Toarcian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic. It spans the time between 182.7 Ma (million years ago) and 174.1 Ma. It follows the Pliensbachian and is followed by the Aalenian. The Toarcian ...

stage. This skeleton was discovered in

, UK. The holotype of ''H. tomistomimus'', missing the snout tip, is about long. Benson ''et al.'' (2011) also reassigned ''

Macroplata ''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-l ...

longirostris'' (originally ''

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 Group, Lias of England. It is disting ...

longirostris'') to ''Hauffiosaurus''. The holotype and only specimen of ''H. longirostris'', MCZ 1033, found from the ''Harpoceras serpentinum'' Zone (182.7–181.2 Ma) of the Jet Rock Member, Whitby Mudstone Formation, early Toarcian of Yorkshire, England. The individual to which this specimen belongs is estimated to have measured approximately in total body length and weighed . Few Early Jurassic plesiosaurians have the sort of long, thin snout present in ''Hauffiosaurus,'' a shape usually considered to indicate a diet of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

(ichthyophagy). The teeth are slender and elongated and possess fine longitudinal ridges. This sort of

tooth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...

, coupled with the long

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

seen in this genus is effective in piercing soft prey.

Phylogeny

Smith & Dyke, 2008 were the first who found ''Hauffiosaurus'' to be basal pliosauroid. Benson, Ketchum, Noè and Gómez-Pérez who assigned two additional species to this genus, confirmed the affinity of this taxon to

Pliosauroidea Pliosauroidea is an extinct clade of plesiosaurs, known from the earliest Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous. They are best known for the subclade Thalassophonea, which contained crocodile-like short-necked forms with large heads and massive tooth ...

using cladistic analysis which was based on Ketchum & Benson's (2010) analysis.

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 d ...

after Benson ''et al.'', 2011: With the description of ''

Marmornectes ''Marmornectes'' is a genus of pliosaurid known from the Middle Jurassic of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom. Description ''Marmornectes'' is known from the holotype BEDFM 1999.201, an articulated partial skeleton which includes the skull. I ...

'' in 2011, Ketchum & Benson suggested for the first time that many basal plesiosaurs and pliosauroids are members of

Pliosauridae Pliosauridae is a family of plesiosaurian marine reptiles from the Latest Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous ( Rhaetian to Turonian stages) of Australia, Europe, North America and South America. The family is more inclusive than the archetypa ...

and

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 sp ...

. Both Rhomaleosauridae and Pliosauridae were found to be monophyletic, and the relations between ''Hauffiosauruss species remained the same. The cladogram below follows Ketchum & Benson, 2011.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3783670 Early Jurassic plesiosaurs of Europe Fossil taxa described in 2001 Pliosaurids Sauropterygian genera

Description

Phylogeny

See also

References