''Eurysaurus'' (meaning "wide lizard") is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus of

plesiosaur 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 st ...

, originally classed as a

nothosaur Nothosaurs (superfamily Nothosauroidea) were Triassic marine sauropterygian reptiles. They averaged about in length, with a long body and tail. The feet were paddle-like, and are known to have been webbed in life, to help power the animal when sw ...

, from the

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� ...

of Echenoz-la-Meline,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, named in 1878. The

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

material, consisting of a

cranium The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

, teeth and five

vertebrae Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal ...

, is now lost.Gaudry, a. 1878. Sur un grand reptile fossil (the ''Eurysaurus raincourti''). Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des Séances de l ' Académie des Sciences, Paris, 86: 1031–1033. The type species is ''E. raincourti'', and a second species, ''E. schafferi'', was named in 1924 but it has since been absorbed into the unrelated genus '' Germanosaurus''.O. Rieppel. 1997. Revision of the sauropterygian reptile genus ''

Cymatosaurus ''Cymatosaurus'' is an extinct genus of pistosauroid or nothosauriform sauropterygian. It is known to have been alive from the Early Triassic to the Middle Triassic period (latest Olenekian to Anisian stages) of Germany Germany, offici ...

'' v. Fritsch, 1894, and the relationships of ''Germanosaurus'' Nopcsa, 1928, from the Middle Triassic of Europe. ''Fieldiana: Geology, new series''

History

The holotype, first described in 1878 by

Albert Gaudry Jean Albert Gaudry (16 September 1827 – 27 November 1908) was a French geologist and palaeontologist. He was born at St Germain-en-Laye, and was educated at the Catholic Collège Stanislas de Paris. He was a notable proponent of theistic evolu ...

, has since been lost. A new study based essentially on illustrations of the type material by Noè (2001) has considered ''Eurysaurus'' a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

'', probably congeneric with the

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 toot ...

Simolestes ''Simolestes'' (meaning "snub-nosed thief") is an extinct pliosaurid genus that lived in the Middle to Late Jurassic. The type specimen, NHMUK PV R 3319 is an almost complete but crushed skeleton diagnostic to ''Simolestes vorax'', dating back ...

''.Noè, LF 2001. A taxonomic and functional study of the Callovian (Middle Jurassic) Plesiosauroidea (Reptilia, Sauropterygia). ''Ph.D. thesis, University of Derby, Derby, UK.'' However, due to the stratigraphic difference of the two forms, it is possible that ''Eurysaurus'' was a separate genus in its own right.

Classification

Gaudry in 1878 originally classified ''Eurysaurus'' as a

. In 2001, Noè reclassified ''Eurysaurus'' as a

, possibly belonging to the

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 toot ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3734985 Early Jurassic plesiosaurs of Europe Fossils of France Fossil taxa described in 1878 Sinemurian genus first appearances Pliensbachian genus extinctions

History

Classification

See also

References