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Pliosaur
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 toothed jaws, commonly known as pliosaurs. More primitive non-thalassophonean pliosauroids resembled plesiosaurs in possessing relatively long necks and smaller heads. They originally included only members of the family Pliosauridae, of the order Plesiosauria, but several other genera and families are now also included, the number and details of which vary according to the classification used. The distinguishing characteristics are a short neck and an elongated head, with larger hind flippers compared to the fore flippers, the opposite of the plesiosaurs. They were carnivorous and their long and powerful jaws carried many sharp, conical teeth. Pliosaurs range from 4 to 10 meters or more in length. Their prey may have included fish, sharks, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Peloneustes
''Peloneustes'' (meaning ) is a genus of pliosaurid plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England. Its remains are known from the Peterborough Member of the Oxford Clay Formation, which is Callovian in age. It was originally described as a species of ''Plesiosaurus'' by palaeontologist Harry Govier Seeley in 1869, before being given its own genus by naturalist Richard Lydekker in 1889. While many species have been assigned to ''Peloneustes'', ''P. philarchus'' is currently the only one still considered valid, with the others moved to different genera, considered ''nomina dubia'', or Synonym (taxonomy), synonymised with ''P. philarchus''. Some of the material formerly assigned to ''P. evansi'' has since been reassigned to "Pliosaurus" andrewsi, "''Pliosaurus''" ''andrewsi''. ''Peloneustes'' is known from many specimens, including some very complete material. With a total length of , ''Peloneustes'' is not a large pliosaurid. It had a large, triangular skull, which occupied abou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kronosaurus
''Kronosaurus'' ( ) is an extinct genus of large short-necked pliosaur that lived during the Aptian to Albian Stage (stratigraphy), stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now Australia. The first known specimen was received in 1899 and consists of a partially preserved mandibular symphysis, which was first thought to come from an ichthyosaur according to Charles Walter De Vis, Charles De Vis. However, it was 1924 that Albert Heber Longman formally described this specimen as the holotype of an imposing pliosaurid, to which he gave the scientific name ''K. queenslandicus'', which is still the only recognized species nowadays. The genus name, meaning "lizard of Cronus, Kronos", refers to its large size and possible ferocity reminiscent of the Titans, Titan of the Greek mythology, while the species name alludes to Queensland, the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of its discovery. In the early 1930s, the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology sent an Harvard Aust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Plesiosaurs
The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period (geology), 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 valid species have been described. In the early twenty-first cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Plesiosauria
The Plesiosauria 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 valid species have been described. In the early twenty-first century, the number of discoveries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Liopleurodon Ferox
''Liopleurodon'' (; meaning 'smooth-sided teeth') is an extinct genus of Carnivore, carnivorous pliosaurid pliosaurs that lived from the Callovian Stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Middle Jurassic to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic Period (geology), period (c. 166 to 155 mya (unit), mya). The type species is ''L. ferox'', which is probably the only Valid name (zoology), valid species. Some studies also include the second species ''L. pachydeirus'', but this latter is considered as a probable junior synonym of ''L. ferox'' due to its lack of viable Species description, diagnosis. Fossils attributed to ''Liopleurodon'', including some skeletons, are mainly known from Europe, with one occurrence reported in Mexico. As the holotype specimen of ''L. ferox'' consists of a single tooth preserving questionable distinctive features, recent studies therefore recommend the necessary identification of a neotype in order to preserve its validity. Other additional species were eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Pliosaurus Macromerus
''Pliosaurus'' (meaning 'more lizard') is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages) of Europe and South America. This genus has contained many species in the past but recent reviews found only six (''P. brachydeirus'' (type species), ''P. carpenteri'', ''P. funkei'', ''P. kevani'', ''P. rossicus'' and ''P. westburyensis'') to be definitively valid. One Patagonian species ''P. patagonicus'' likely belongs to a different genus within Brachaucheninae. Currently, ''P. brachyspondylus'' and ''P. macromerus'' are considered dubious, while ''P. portentificus'' is considered undiagnostic. Most European species of ''Pliosaurus'' would have measured around long and weighed over , though some potential specimens indicate a much larger size. Species of this genus are differentiated from other pliosaurids based on seven autapomorphies, including teeth that are triangular in cross section. Their diet would have included fish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Thalassophonea
Pliosauridae is a family of plesiosaurian marine reptiles from the Latest Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous (Rhaetian to Turonian stages). The family is more inclusive than the archetypal short-necked large headed species that are placed in the subclade Thalassophonea, with early, primitive forms resembling other plesiosaurs with long necks. The largest thalassophonean pliosaurs reached , in length, with around a quarter of this length being the head. Thalassophonean pliosaurs represented the largest marine predators during their existence, spanning more than 80 million years. Pliosaurs went extinct during the early Late Cretaceous and were subsequently replaced by the mosasaurs. Taxonomy Pliosauridae was formally named by Harry G. Seeley in 1874. Pliosauridae is a stem-based taxon defined in 2010 (and in earlier studies in a similar manner) as "all taxa more closely related to '' Pliosaurus brachydeirus'' than to '' Leptocleidus superstes'', '' Polycotylus latipinnis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Pliosauridae
Pliosauridae is a family of plesiosaurian marine reptiles from the Latest Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous ( Rhaetian to Turonian stages). The family is more inclusive than the archetypal short-necked large headed species that are placed in the subclade Thalassophonea, with early, primitive forms resembling other plesiosaurs with long necks. The largest thalassophonean pliosaurs reached , in length, with around a quarter of this length being the head. Thalassophonean pliosaurs represented the largest marine predators during their existence, spanning more than 80 million years. Pliosaurs went extinct during the early Late Cretaceous and were subsequently replaced by the mosasaurs. Taxonomy Pliosauridae was formally named by Harry G. Seeley in 1874. Pliosauridae is a stem-based taxon defined in 2010 (and in earlier studies in a similar manner) as "all taxa more closely related to '' Pliosaurus brachydeirus'' than to '' Leptocleidus superstes'', '' Polycotylus latipin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rhomaleosaurus Cramptoni
''Rhomaleosaurus'' (meaning "strong lizard") is an extinct genus of Early Jurassic (Toarcian Faunal stage, age, about 183 to 175.6 million years ago) rhomaleosaurid pliosauroid known from Northamptonshire and from Yorkshire of the United Kingdom. It was first named by Harry Seeley in 1874 in paleontology, 1874 and the type species is ''Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni''. It was one of the earliest large marine reptile predators which hunted in the seas of Mesozoic era, measuring about long. Like other pliosaurs, ''Rhomaleosaurus'' fed on ichthyosaurs, ammonites and other Plesiosauria, plesiosaurs. Species ''R. cramptoni'' In July 1848, a fossil of a large plesiosaur was unearthed in an alum quarry at Kettleness, near Whitby, in Yorkshire, England. It was collected from the ''A. bifrons'' ammonite zone of the Whitby Mudstone Formation, dating to the early Toarcian age, about 183 to 180 million years ago. The complete skeleton which preserved the skull, National Museum of Ireland, NMING& ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the second and middle period of the Mesozoic, Mesozoic Era as well as the eighth period of the Phanerozoic, Phanerozoic Eon and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified. The start of the Jurassic was marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, associated with the eruption of the Central Atlantic magmatic province, Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). The beginning of the Toarcian Age started around 183 million years ago and is marked by the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, a global episode of Anoxic event, oceanic anoxia, ocean acidification, and elevated global temperatures associated with extinctions, likely caused by the eruption of the Kar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Macroplata
''Macroplata'' (meaning "big plate") is an extinct genus of Early Jurassic rhomaleosaurid plesiosaur which grew up to in length. 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. It is known from a nearly complete skeleton NHMUK PV R5488 (formerly BMNH R 5488) from the Blue Lias Formation (Hettangian) of Harbury, Warwickshire, UK. 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''.R. B. J. Benson, H. F. Ketchum, L. F. Noe and M. Gomez-Perez. 2011. "New informat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
