![Wealden Leptocleidid scale](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Wealden_Leptocleidid_scale.png)
''Vectocleidus'' 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 ...
of
leptocleidid
''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. ''Naturwissen ...
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 appeare ...
n known from the
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma.
Geology
Pro ...
Vectis Formation
The Vectis Formation is a geological formation on the Isle of Wight and Swanage, England whose strata were formed in the lowermost Aptian, approximately 125 million years ago."Magnetostratigraphy of the Lower Cretaceous Vectis Formation (Wealden ...
(late
Barremian
The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded ...
stage) of
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
, in 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 contains a single
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
, ''Vectocleidus pastorum''.
It measures in length and in body mass.
See also
*
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 ...
*
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
Early Cretaceous plesiosaurs of Europe
Fossil taxa described in 2012
Taxa named by Darren Naish
Sauropterygian genera
Plesiosaurs
{{plesiosaur-stub