Lyme RegisLyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, 25 miles (40 km) west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site and heritage coast.
SauropterygiaGroup of Mesozoic aquatic reptilesSauropterygia ("lizardflippers") is an extinct clade of diverse, generally marine reptiles that developed from terrestrial ancestors soon after the end-Permian extinction and flourished during the Triassic before all except for the Plesiosauria became extinct at the end of that period. The plesiosaurs would continue to diversify until the end of the Mesozoic, when they became extinct as part of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.
SeeleyosaurusSeeleyosaurus 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, which has since been absorbed into S. guilelmiimperatoris. Discovery and namingThe holotype is MB.R.1992, a large almost complete skeleton from the Upper Lias (Toarcian) Lias Group Formations of Württemberg, Germany.
DorsetCounty of EnglandCeremonial county in EnglandDorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south-east, the English Channel to the south, and Devon to the west. The largest settlement is Bournemouth.
PlesiosaurOrder of reptiles (fossil)The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of extinct Mesozoicmarine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest TriassicPeriod, 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.
HydrorionHydrorion (meaning 'water hunter') is a genus of plesiosaur from the ToarcianAge of the Lower Jurassic. It is only known from multiple specimens, all discovered in the Posidonia Shale of south-western 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, with the largest specimen measuring 4 m (13 ft) long.
MicrocleidusMicrocleidus 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. DescriptionThe type species, M. homalospondylus, was the largest, measuring 5.1 m (17 ft) long and weighing 650 kg (1,430 lb).
Early JurassicThe Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic 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 174.7 ±0.8 Ma. Certain rocks of marine origin of this age in Europe are called "Lias" and that name was used for the period, as well, in 19th-century geology.
SinemurianIn the geologic timescale, the Sinemurian is an age and stage in the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series. It spans the time between 199.5 ±0.3 Ma and 192.9 ±0.3 Ma (million years ago). The Sinemurian is preceded by the Hettangian and is followed by the Pliensbachian. In Europe the Sinemurian age, together with the Hettangian age, saw the deposition of the lower Lias, in Great Britain known as the Blue Lias.
Type speciesA type species (species typica) is the species considered to be permanently taxonomically associated with the name of a genus or subgenus, and that is used to identify it and distinguish it from others. In modern times, it is normally assigned when the genus or subgenus is first named. Any taxonomic revisions must be done in such a way that the genus or subgenus retains the type species if the genus is to keep its name.Lias GroupThe Lias Group or Lias is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) found in a large area of western Europe, including the British Isles, the North Sea, the Low Countries and the north of Germany. It consists of marinelimestones, shales, marls and clays. Lias is a Middle English term for hard limestone, used in this specific sense by geologists since 1833.
ReptileClass of animalsReptiles, as commonly defined, are tetrapodvertebrateanimals with an ectothermic metabolism and amniotic development. Reptiles traditionally comprise four orders: Testudines (turtles), Crocodilia (crocodiles, alligators and gharials), Squamata (lizards and snakes) and Rhynchocephalia (tuatara), with about 12,000 extant species listed in the Reptile Database.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.