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Brachauchenius lucasi

Reptilia - Plesiosauria - Pliosauridae

Taxonomy
Brachauchenius lucasi was named by Williston (1903). Its type specimen is USNM 4989, a partial skeleton, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Near Delphos (USNM 4989, Brachauchenius lucasi type locality), which is in a Turonian/Turonian marine limestone in Kansas. It is the type species of Brachauchenius.

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1903Brachauchenius lucasi Williston
1930Brachauchenius lucasi Hay p. 119
1962Brachauchenius lucasi Welles pp. 3, 54
1996Brachauchenius lucasi Carpenter p. 261 fig. 1
2001Brachauchenius lucasi O'Keefe p. 14

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
RankNameAuthor
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
suborderSauropterygia
orderPlesiosauriade Blainville 1835
superfamilyPliosauroideaWelles 1943
familyPliosauridaeSeeley 1874
—Thalassophonea
subfamilyBrachaucheninae(Williston 1925)
genusBrachauchenius
specieslucasi

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.

†Brachauchenius lucasi Williston 1903
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
K. Carpenter 1996Very large pliosaurid (~11 m) with 5 premaxillary teeth as in Pliosaurus; premaxillaries saparated from parietals by frontals; moderately tall sagittal crest, low in Upper Jurassic pliosaurids; anterior interpterygoid vacuity absent as in Simolestes and Peloneustes; striations on teeth branching toward roots, unlike straight striae in Jurassic pliosaurids Liopleurodon ferox, Pliosaurus, Peloneustes, and Simolestes; mandibular symphysis extending back to fifth or sixth tooth as in L. ferox; sixth denrary tooth caniniform.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatitesuperf
Environment: marinesuperf
Locomotion: actively mobilesuperf
Life habit: nektonicsuperf
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: carnivoresuperf
Reproduction: viviparouso
Dispersal: direct/internalsuperf
Created: 2005-11-07 12:13:24
Modified: 2009-07-25 10:49:01
Source: superf = superfamily, o = order
References: Kiessling 2004, Hampe 2005

Age range: base of the Middle Cenomanian to the top of the Turonian or 99.60000 to 89.80000 Ma

Collections (4 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Cenomanian - Turonian100.5 - 89.8USA (Texas) Brachauchenius lucasi (105655)
Middle Cenomanian99.6 - 93.5USA (Kansas) Brachauchenius lucasi (94538)
Early/Lower Turonian93.5 - 89.3USA (Utah) Brachauchenius lucasi (150871)
Early/Lower Turonian - Middle Turonian93.5 - 89.3USA (Kansas) Brachauchenius lucasi (type locality: 117803)