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Pliosauridae
Taxonomy
Pliosauridae was named by Seeley (1874). It is not extant. Its type is Makhaira.
It was assigned to Plesiosauria by Andrews (1913), Kuhn (1946); to Plesiosauroidea by Cruickshank (1994); to Neoplesiosauria by Benson et al. (2012); to Plesiosauria by Williston (1903), Williston (1903), White (1940), Tarlo (1960), O’Gorman et al. (2018); to Plesiosauria by Benson et al. (2013), Benson and Druckenmiller (2014), Cau and Fanti (2014), Zverkov and Pervushov (2020); and to Pliosauroidea by Welles (1943), Delair (1960), Welles (1962), Persson (1963), Kuhn (1966), Brown (1981), Wiffen and Moisley (1986), Carroll (1988), Bardet et al. (1991), Gasparini and Spalletti (1993), Cruickshank (1994), Cruickshank (1996), Cruickshank (1997), Gasparini (1997), O'Keefe (2001), Schumacher and Everhart (2005), Araujo et al. (2008), Ketchum and Benson (2010), Ketchum and Benson (2011), Gomez-Perez and Noe (2011), Gasparini and O'Gorman (2014), O'Gorman (2016), Páramo-Fonseca et al. (2018), Páramo-Fonseca et al. (2023).
It was assigned to Plesiosauria by Andrews (1913), Kuhn (1946); to Plesiosauroidea by Cruickshank (1994); to Neoplesiosauria by Benson et al. (2012); to Plesiosauria by Williston (1903), Williston (1903), White (1940), Tarlo (1960), O’Gorman et al. (2018); to Plesiosauria by Benson et al. (2013), Benson and Druckenmiller (2014), Cau and Fanti (2014), Zverkov and Pervushov (2020); and to Pliosauroidea by Welles (1943), Delair (1960), Welles (1962), Persson (1963), Kuhn (1966), Brown (1981), Wiffen and Moisley (1986), Carroll (1988), Bardet et al. (1991), Gasparini and Spalletti (1993), Cruickshank (1994), Cruickshank (1996), Cruickshank (1997), Gasparini (1997), O'Keefe (2001), Schumacher and Everhart (2005), Araujo et al. (2008), Ketchum and Benson (2010), Ketchum and Benson (2011), Gomez-Perez and Noe (2011), Gasparini and O'Gorman (2014), O'Gorman (2016), Páramo-Fonseca et al. (2018), Páramo-Fonseca et al. (2023).
Subtaxa
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1869 | Pliosaurus sterrodirus Seeley p. 98 |
| 1869 | Pliosaurus evansi Seeley p. 116 |
| 1871 | Pliosaurus evansi Phillips p. 317 |
| 1871 | Pliosaurus aequalis Phillips p. 365 |
| 1874 | Pliosauridae Seeley |
| 1889 | Pliosaurus evansi Lydekker pp. 128-129 fig. 39 |
| 1889 | Peloneustes aequalis Lydekker p. 152 fig. 50 |
| 1890 | Peloneustes evansi Lydekker p. 273 |
| 1903 | Pliosauridae Williston p. 12 |
| 1913 | Pliosauridae Andrews p. 1 |
| 1913 | Peloneustes evansi Andrews p. 71 |
| 1940 | Pliosauridae White p. 465 figs. 11a-d |
| 1943 | Pliosauridae Welles p. 212 |
| 1946 | Pliosauridae Kuhn p. 59 |
| 1960 | Pliosauridae Delair p. 69 |
| 1960 | Pliosauridae Tarlo p. 152 |
| 1962 | Pliosauridae Welles p. 4 |
| 1963 | Pliosauridae Persson p. 6 |
| 1966 | Pliosauridae Kuhn p. 115 |
| 1981 | Pliosauridae Brown p. 341 |
| 1986 | Pliosauridae Wiffen and Moisley p. 243 |
| 1988 | Pliosauridae Carroll |
| 1991 | Pliosauridae Bardet et al. p. 1346 |
| 1993 | Pliosauridae Gasparini and Spalletti p. 249 |
| 1994 | Pliosauridae Cruickshank p. 153 |
| 1996 | Pliosauridae Cruickshank pp. 109-113 |
| 1997 | Pliosauridae Cruickshank p. 210 |
| 1997 | Pliosauridae Gasparini p. 136 |
| 2001 | Pliosauridae O'Keefe p. 19 fig. 20 |
| 2005 | Pliosauridae Schumacher and Everhart p. 36 |
| 2008 | Pliosauridae Araujo et al. p. 25 fig. 6 |
| 2010 | Pliosauridae Ketchum and Benson p. 15 fig. 6 |
| 2011 | Pliosauridae Gomez-Perez and Noe |
| 2011 | Pliosauridae Ketchum and Benson p. 126 |
| 2012 | Pliosauridae Benson et al. |
| 2013 | Pliosauridae Benson et al. |
| 2014 | Pliosauridae Benson and Druckenmiller figs. 2-3 |
| 2014 | Pliosauridae Cau and Fanti |
| 2014 | Pliosauridae Gasparini and O'Gorman |
| 2016 | Pliosauridae O'Gorman p. 38 |
| 2018 | Pliosauridae O’Gorman et al. |
| 2018 | Pliosauridae Páramo-Fonseca et al. |
| 2020 | Pliosauridae Zverkov and Pervushov |
| 2023 | Pliosauridae Páramo-Fonseca et al. p. 2 |
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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.
Fm. †Pliosauridae Seeley 1874
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G. †Attenborosaurus Bakker 1993
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G. †Hauffiosaurus O'Keefe 2001
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†Hauffiosaurus longirostris Tate and Blake 1876
†Hauffiosaurus tomistomimus Benson et al. 2011
†Hauffiosaurus zanoni O'Keefe 2001
G. †Stenorhynchosaurus Páramo-Fonseca et al. 2016
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†Stenorhynchosaurus munozi Páramo-Fonseca et al. 2016
G. †Strongylokrotaphus Novozhilov 1964
G. †Thalassiodracon Storrs and Taylor 1996
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†Thalassiodracon hawkinsii Owen 1840
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Invalid names: Plesiosaurus eleutheraxon Seeley 1865 [synonym], Plesiosaurus etheridgei Huxley 1858 [synonym], Plesiosaurus etheridgii Huxley 1858 [synonym]
Invalid names: Plesiosaurus hexatarsostinus Hawkins 1840 [nomen oblitum], Plesiosaurus pentetarsostinus Hawkins 1834 [nomen oblitum], Plesiosaurus triatarsostinus Hawkins 1834 [nomen oblitum]
Unr. †Thalassophonea Benson and Druckenmiller 2014
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Subfm. †Brachaucheninae Williston 1925
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G. †Kronosaurus Longman 1924
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†Kronosaurus boyacensis Hampe 1992
†Kronosaurus queenslandicus Longman 1924
G. †Liopleurodon Sauvage 1873
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†Liopleurodon ferox Sauvage 1873
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Invalid names: Thaumatosaurus mosquensis Kiprijanoff 1883 [synonym]
†Liopleurodon pachydeirus Seeley 1869
G. †Pliosaurus Owen 1841
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†Pleiosaurus macromerus Phillips 1871
†Pliosaurus almanzaensis O’Gorman et al. 2018
†Pliosaurus andrewsi Tarlo 1960
†Pliosaurus carpenteri Benson et al. 2013
†Pliosaurus funkei Knutsen et al. 2012
†Pliosaurus gamma Phillips 1871
†Pliosaurus grandis Owen 1840
†Pliosaurus grossouvrei Sauvage 1873
†Pliosaurus kevani Benson et al. 2013
†Pliosaurus patagonicus Gasparini and O'Gorman 2014
†Pliosaurus rossicus Novozhilov 1948
†Pliosaurus westburyensis Benson et al. 2013
Invalid names: Cetiosaurus rigauxi Sauvage 1874 [nomen dubium], Ischyrodon Merian 1838 [synonym], Plesiosaurus giganteus Conybeare 1824 [nomen oblitum], Pliosaurus irgisensis Novozhilov 1948 [nomen dubium], Pliosaurus portentificus Noè et al. 2004 [nomen dubium], Spondylosaurus Fischer 1845 [synonym], Stretosaurus Tarlo 1959 [synonym]
G. †Simolestes Andrews 1909
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†Simolestes indicus Lydekker 1877
†Simolestes keileni Godefroit 1994
†Simolestes vorax Andrews 1909
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Invalid names: Thaumatosaurus calloviensis Bogolubov 1912 [synonym]
Invalid names: Pliosaurus brachyspondylus Owen 1840 [nomen dubium], Pliosaurus macromerus Phillips 1871 [nomen dubium]
Invalid names: Pliosaurus aequalis Phillips 1871 [nomen dubium], Pliosaurus evansi Seeley 1869 [nomen dubium], Simolestinae Nopcsa 1923 [empty]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| S. W. Williston 1903 | "Skull depressed; no parietal crest; palatines broadly contiguous in the middle line; pterygoids with a prominent ridge and abutting mandibular process. Neck short; cervical ribs single or double headed; all vertebrae without infracentral vascular foramina." | |
| T. E. White 1940 | "Dolichocephalic; 11 to 30 cervical vertebrae, 19 to 37 dorsals, 25 to 30 caudals; cervical ribs double- or single-headed; clavicles absent; interclavicle known only in Peloneustes; scapula meeting coracoid medial to scapulo-coracoid fenestra; fenestrae small and separated by a broad bar equal in width to twice the diameter of one fenestra; posterior lateral angles of coracoids not produced." | |
| D. S. Brown 1981 | Plesiosauria with relatively large skulls; premaxillae bear 5 pairs of teeth; mandibular symphysis long, extending back between several pairs of alveoli which bear enlarged teeth; from 25 to 40 pairs of dentary teeth; teeth broad and strong and frequently show wear on their tips; teeth ornamented with longitudinal ridges and may also be keeled; occipital condyle formed by the basioccipital only; overall length from 3 m in primitive forms to about 12 m in some advanced forms; number of cervical vertebrae primitively about 30 and reducing to a minimum of 13 in advanced forms; except for some primitive forms, cervical centra relatively short; cervical ribs double-headed in Jurassic forms, becoming single-headed in Cretaceous forms; ventral rami of the scapulae usually remaining narrow; ischia relatively long anteroposteriorly; propodials slender, the femur larger than the humerus; epipodials primitively longer than broad, becoming broader than long in advanced forms; the fifth metapodial shifting proximally from the metapodial row in primitive forms to the distal mesapodial row in advanced forms; hyperphalangy of up to 16 phalanges in the longest digit. | |
| F. R. O'Keefe 2001 | "Preorbital skull length longer than postorbital skull length; rostrum elongate; no contact between premaxilla and external naris; distinct postero-lateral process of frontal absent (reversal); anterior interpterygoid vacuity absent (reversal); vomer reaches past internal nares and meets pterygoid in wide interdigitating suture; mandibular symphysis long; number of maxillary teeth between twenty and thirty; humerus not angled." |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: superf = superfamily, o = order | |||||
| References: Hampe 2005, Kiessling 2004 | |||||
Age range: base of the Hettangian to the top of the Late/Upper Maastrichtian or 201.30000 to 66.00000 Ma
Collections (160 total)
Oldest occurrences | |||
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhaetian - Hettangian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus etheridgii (96605) Plesiosaurus hawkinsii (96604 96608) | |
| Jurassic | United Kingdom (England) | Pliosaurus indet. (141865) | |
| Hettangian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus hawkinsii (149321) | |
| Early/Lower Hettangian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus hawkinsii, Plesiosaurus eleutheraxon (119083) Plesiosaurus sp. (110213) | |
| Early/Lower Hettangian - Early/Lower Pliensbachian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus hawkinsi (118938) | |
| Sinemurian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus laticeps (118472) | |
| Late/Upper Sinemurian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus conybeari (118882) | |
| Late/Upper Pliensbachian | Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia) | Arminisaurus schuberti (188883) | |
| Late/Upper Pliensbachian | France (Calvados) | Cryonectes neustriacus (131488) | |
| Falciferum | Germany (Baden-Württenburg) | Hauffiosaurus zanoni (132865) | |
Youngest occurrences |
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| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | PBDB collection number |
| Turonian | USA (South Dakota) | Plesiosauria indet. (181902) | |
| Early/Lower Turonian | Morocco (Er-Rachidia) | Brachauchenius lucasi (103973) | |
| Early/Lower Turonian | Czech Republic | Pliosauridae indet. (180999) | |
| Early/Lower Turonian | USA (Utah) | Brachauchenius lucasi (150871 150872) | |
| Early/Lower Turonian - Middle Turonian | USA (Kansas) | Brachauchenius lucasi (117803 132610) | |
| Middle Turonian | USA (Kansas) | Brachauchenius lucasi (117804) Pliosauridae indet. (117801 117802) P. sp. (150370) | |
| Santonian | USA (Alabama) | Discosaurus vetustus (3586) | |
| Santonian - Campanian | Italy | Pliosauridae indet. (36448) | |
| Late/Upper Campanian | Russian Federation (Volgograd) | Pliosauridae indet. (59385) | |
| Late/Upper Maastrichtian | Chile (Concepcíon) | Pliosaurus sp. (13309) | |