Synonym: Cryptocleidoidea Williston 1925 [replaced name]
Full reference: H. F. Ketchum and R. B. J. Benson. 2010. Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses. Biological Reviews 85:361-392
Parent taxon: Plesiosauroidea according to R. B. J. Benson and P. S. Druckenmiller 2014
See also Ketchum and Benson 2010, Ketchum and Benson 2011, O'Keefe 2001, O'Keefe et al. 2011 and Otero et al. 2012
Sister taxa: Cimoliosaurus limnophilus, Cryptoclididae, Elasmosauridae, Euplesiosauria, Franconiasaurus, Leptocleidia, Microcleididae, Opallionectes, Plesiopharos, Plesiopterys, Plesiosauridae, Plesiosaurus, Polycotylidae, Sthenarosaurus, Westphaliasaurus
Subtaxa: Tricleidia
Ecology: aquatic carnivore