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Spitrasaurus larseni
Taxonomy
Spitrasaurus larseni was named by Knutsen et al. (2012) [urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:4E3AD7F5-5FDC-4B5E-85DEFBF43E0C1A52]. Its type specimen is SVB 1450, a partial skeleton (disarticulated juvenile plesiosaur skeleton consisting of the basioccipital, right quadrate and incomplete right squamosal, an incomplete jaw and several incomp), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is The north slope of Janusfjellet (Spitrasaurus larseni type), which is in a Tithonian deep-water mudstone in the Agardhfjellet Formation of Norway.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Spitrasaurus larseni Knutsen et al. p. 199 figs. 13-21 |
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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.
†Spitrasaurus larseni Knutsen et al. 2012
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| E. M. Knutsen et al. 2012 | Plesiosaur exhibiting the following unique combination of characters and autapomorphies: occipital condyle separated from the basioccipital by a continuous, elevated rim (rim not continuousin Kimmerosaurus); dorsal margin of the quadrate angled ventromedially at 70 degrees (40 degrees in Djupedalia); pterygoid ramus of quadrate angled anteriorly at 90 degrees relative to a line drawn mediolaterally through the quadrate condyle (55 degrees in Djupedalia); lateral condyle of the quadrate larger than the medial (reverse in Djupedalia and Kimmerosaurus); gracile mandible bearing at least 31 teeth in each dentary (36 in Kimmerosaurus, 19-22 in Muraenosaurus); 1-2 teeth in the mandibular symphysis (4-5 in Cryptoclidus and Muraenosaurus); retroarticular process approximately 2.5 times longer than it is dorsoventrally tall, and evenly high dorsoventrally (similar to Kimmerosaurus); retroarticular process dorsally inflected at 35 degrees from the long axis of the mandibular ramus (not dorsally inflected in Cryptoclidus and Tricleidus; only inflected at 20 degrees in Kimmerosaurus); teeth extremely slender and oval in crosssection, with numerous, fine, longitudinal, enamelled ridges on both lingual and labial sides (relatively more robust in Muraenosaurus and Cryptoclidus; enamelled ridges absent in Kimmerosaurus); cervical centra equally long and tall in lateral view and 20 percent wider than tall in articular view (longer than tall in S. wensaasi); rib facets on cervical centra oval (rhomboid in S. wensaasi); cervical ribs with an anterior distal projection (absent in S. wensaasi). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: o = order | |||||
| Reference: Kiessling 2004 | |||||