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Plesiosaurus

Osteichthyes - Plesiosauria

Taxonomy
Plesiosaurus was named by de la Beche and Conybeare (1821) [Sepkoski's age data: Tr Rhae J Toar]. Its type is Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus. It is the type genus of Plesiosauridae.

It was assigned to Ichthyosauroidea by Fitzinger (1826); to Enaliosauri by Parkinson (1822), Owen (1840); to Nexipodes by Meyer (1845); to Ichthyosauridae by d'Orbigny (1849); to Sauropterygia by Owen (1860); to Sauropterygia by Owen (1859), Owen (1861), Owen (1864), Owen (1865), Hector (1874), Tate and Blake (1876); to Dolichodeira by Seeley (1892); to Plesiosauria by Williston (1903), Storrs (1997), Sepkoski (2002); to Plesiosauridae by Cope (1871), Cope (1875), Lydekker (1889), Hay (1902), Hay (1930), White (1940), Delair (1960), Persson (1963), Kuhn (1966), Kuhn (1971), Brown (1981), Carroll (1988), Ketchum and Benson (2010); and to Plesiosauroidea by O'Keefe (2001), Gasparini et al. (2002), Benson et al. (2012), Benson and Druckenmiller (2014).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1821Plesiosaurus de la Beche and Conybeare p. 581
1822Plesiosaurus Parkinson p. 300
1822Plesiosaurus priscus Parkinson p. 301
1826Plesiosaurus Fitzinger p. 9
1840Plesiosaurus Owen p. 49–50
1845Plesiosaurus Meyer p. 281
1849Plesiosaurus d'Orbigny p. 210
1859Plesiosaurus Owen p. 146
1860Plesiosaurus Owen p. 223
1861Plesiosaurus Owen p. 243
1864Plesiosaurus Owen p. 1
1865Plesiosaurus Owen pp. 1-11
1871Plesiosaurus Cope p. 235
1874Plesiosaurus Hector p. 337
1875Plesiosaurus Cope p. 15
1876Plesiosaurus Tate and Blake p. 246
1889Plesiosaurus Lydekker p. 251
1892Plesiosaurus Seeley p. 151
1902Plesiosaurus Hay p. 456
1902Plesiosaurus priscus Huene p. 47
1903Plesiosaurus Williston p. 7
1930Plesiosaurus Hay p. 115
1940Plesiosaurus White p. 461
1960Plesiosaurus Delair pp. 53-54
1963Plesiosaurus Persson p. 8
1964Plesiosaurus elasmosaurus Finzel
1966Plesiosaurus Kuhn p. 117
1971Plesiosaurus Kuhn p. 20
1981Plesiosaurus Brown p. 340
1988Plesiosaurus Carroll
1997Plesiosaurus Storrs p. 149
2001Plesiosaurus O'Keefe p. 19 fig. 20
2002Plesiosaurus Gasparini et al.
2002Plesiosaurus Sepkoski
2010Plesiosaurus Ketchum and Benson p. 15
2012Plesiosaurus Benson et al. fig. 4
2014Plesiosaurus Benson and Druckenmiller figs. 2-3

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
RankNameAuthor
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
suborderSauropterygia
orderPlesiosauriade Blainville 1835
superfamilyPlesiosauroideaWelles 1943
genusPlesiosaurus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. †Plesiosaurus de la Beche and Conybeare 1821
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†Plesiosaurus bavaricus Dames 1895
†Plesiosaurus bitractensis Sauvage 1883
†Plesiosaurus carinatus Cuvier 1824
†Plesiosaurus cliduchus Seeley 1865
†Plesiosaurus costatus Owen 1840
†Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus Conybeare 1824
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Invalid names: Plesiosaurus homei Gray 1831 [synonym], Plesiosaurus macromus Owen 1840 [synonym]
†Plesiosaurus exarsostinus Hawkins 1834
†Plesiosaurus grandis Owen 1840
†Plesiosaurus hesternus Welles 1953
†Plesiosaurus houzeaui Dollo 1909
hide
Invalid names: Plesiosaurus brachycephalus Owen 1840 [synonym]
†Plesiosaurus macrodeirus Seeley 1869
†Plesiosaurus mexicanus Wieland 1910
†Plesiosaurus nitidus Phillips 1871
†Plesiosaurus trigonus Cuvier 1824
Invalid names: Plesiosaurus elasmosaurus Finzel 1964 [nomen nudum], Plesiosaurus priscus Parkinson 1822 [nomen dubium]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
J. Hector 1874"Centrum of dorsal vertebrae short as compared with its width, which is greater than its height; flat, or only slightly concave at goth ends. Humerus prismatic, with a round proximal surface; distal end expanded and flat."
H. G. Seeley 1892"in which the carpus is weakly ossified"
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Environment: marineo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquatico
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: carnivoreo
Reproduction: viviparouso
Created: 2009-07-20 06:05:48
Modified: 2011-08-12 01:58:15
Source: o = order
Reference: Kiessling 2004

Age range: base of the Rhaetian to the top of the Early/Lower Maastrichtian or 205.70000 to 66.00000 Ma

Collections (53 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Rhaetian205.7 - 201.4Germany (Sachsen-Anhalt) P. keuperinus (139489)
Rhaetian205.7 - 201.4France (Burgundy) P. costatus, P. bitractensis (144758 144759)
Rhaetian205.7 - 201.4Germany (Baden-Württemberg) P. sp. (131422)
Rhaetian205.7 - 201.4France (Champagne-Ardennes) P. carinatus (139922)
Rhaetian205.7 - 201.4Belgium (Gaume) P. sp. (139199 139202)
Rhaetian205.7 - 201.4United Kingdom (England) P. costatus, P. trigonus (122362) P. dibothrius (57958) P. rostratus (122365) P. sp. (96617 163310)
Angulata201.4 - 199.5France (Lorraine) P. sp. (53947)
Early/Lower Hettangian201.4 - 199.5United Kingdom (England) P. cliduchus (119083)
Early/Lower Hettangian - Early/Lower Pliensbachian201.4 - 184.2United Kingdom (England) P. dolichodeirus, P. macrocephalus, P. macromus, P. platydeirus (118938)
Hettangian - Early/Lower Pliensbachian201.4 - 184.2United Kingdom (England) P. brachycephalus (119084) P. sp. (140698) P. subtrigonus (119085 140697)
Early/Lower Sinemurian199.5 - 192.9United Kingdom P. macrocephalus (139854)
Late/Upper Sinemurian199.5 - 192.9United Kingdom (England) P. dolichodeirus (118478)
Sinemurian199.5 - 192.9United Kingdom (England) P. dolichodeirus (119286 138246) P. rostratus (118472) P. sp. (97907)
Early/Lower Pliensbachian192.9 - 184.2United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (138247)
Early/Lower Toarcian184.2 - 182.9United Kingdom (England) P. coelospondylus (118470)
Late/Upper Toarcian - Aalenian180.4 - 170.9France P. sp. (51501)
Early/Lower Callovian165.3 - 161.5Chile (Antofagasta) P. sp. (170680)
Late/Upper Jurassic161.5 - 143.1United Kingdom (Scotland) P. subconcavus (105332)
Kimmeridgian - Early/Lower Tithonian154.8 - 145.06United Kingdom (Oxfordshire) Thaumatosaurus carinatus (114895)
Kimmeridgian - Early/Lower Tithonian154.8 - 145.06United Kingdom (England) P. grandis, P. nitidus (74931) P. macrodeirus (119606) P. pectopleuron (138282) Thaumatosaurus carinatus (139861)
Late/Upper Kimmeridgian152.21 - 149.2France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) P. morinicus, Thaumatosaurus carinatus (94534)
Late/Upper Kimmeridgian152.21 - 149.2France (Aquitaine) P. sp. (94532)
Late/Upper Kimmeridgian152.21 - 149.2United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (70997) Thaumatosaurus carinatus (119667)
Tithonian149.2 - 143.1USA (California) P. hesternus (192349)
Tithonian149.2 - 143.1United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (93105)
Late/Upper Berriasian - Early/Lower Hauterivian139.1 - 125.77Mexico (Oaxaca) P. mexicanus (144335)
Late/Upper Valanginian137.05 - 132.6South Africa (Western Cape) P. sp. (106439)
Early/Lower Hauterivian - Late/Upper Hauterivian132.6 - 125.77France P. neocomensis (169120)
Albian113.2 - 100.5United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (154820)
Albian113.2 - 100.5Australia (Queensland) P. sp. (222686)
Late/Upper Albian106.3 - 100.5United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (94253)
Cenomanian - Maastrichtian100.5 - 66.0United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (137423)
Turonian - Coniacian93.9 - 85.7Russian Federation (Kaliningrad) P. sp. (227273)
Turonian - Coniacian93.9 - 85.7USA (Texas) P. sp. (107425)
Early/Lower Santonian85.7 - 83.6Japan (Futaba) P. sp. (150930)
Haumurian83.6 - 66.0New Zealand (Canterbury) P. holmerii (101409)
Late/Upper Campanian - Early/Lower Maastrichtian83.6 - 66.0USA (New Jersey) P. sp. (52504)