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Pliosaurus

Reptilia - Pliosauridae

Taxonomy

Plesiosaurus (Pleiosaurus) was named by Owen (1841) [Sepkoski's age data: J l J Tith-l].

It was reranked as Pleiosaurus by Phillips (1871); it was reranked as Pliosaurus by Owen (1842), Meyer (1845), d'Orbigny (1849), Owen (1859), Owen (1860), Owen (1861), Cope (1871), Seeley (1874), Cope (1875), Lydekker (1889), Stefano (1903), Andrews (1913), White (1940), Tarlo (1960), Delair (1960), Carroll (1988), Malakhov (1999), Sepkoski (2002), Noè et al. (2004), Ketchum and Benson (2010), Ketchum and Benson (2011), Knutsen (2012), Knutsen et al. (2012), Sassoon et al. (2012), Benson et al. (2013), Benson and Druckenmiller (2014) and O'Gorman et al. (2018).

It was assigned to Plesiosaurus by Owen (1841); to Enaliosauria by Owen (1842); to Nexipodes by Meyer (1845); to Ichthyosauridae by d'Orbigny (1849); to Sauropterygia by Owen (1860); to Sauropterygia by Owen (1859) and Owen (1861); to Plesiosauria by Phillips (1871); to Plesiosauridae by Cope (1871), Cope (1875), Lydekker (1889) and Stefano (1903); to Plesiosauria by Sepkoski (2002); to Pliosauridae by Seeley (1874), Andrews (1913), White (1940), Tarlo (1960), Delair (1960), Carroll (1988), Malakhov (1999), Noè et al. (2004), Ketchum and Benson (2010), Ketchum and Benson (2011), Knutsen (2012), Knutsen et al. (2012) and Sassoon et al. (2012); and to Thalassophonea by Benson et al. (2013), Benson and Druckenmiller (2014) and O'Gorman et al. (2018).

Subtaxa

Cetiosaurus rigauxi, Pleiosaurus macromerus, Plesiosaurus giganteus, P. almanzaensis, P. andrewsi, P. brachydeirus (syn. Peloneustes sterrodeirus), P. carpenteri, P. funkei, P. gamma, P. grandis, P. grossouvrei, P. irgisensis, P. kevani, P. patagonicus, P. portentificus, P. rossicus, P. westburyensis

Synonyms

Peloneustes irigisensis was named by Novozhilov (1948). Its type specimen is PIN 426, a skull (a large partial skull, partial vertebral column, and articulated hind limb), and it is a 3D body fossil.

It was recombined as Pliosaurus irgisensis by Tarlo (1960) and Storrs et al. (2000); it was considered a nomen dubium by Knutsen (2012) and Benson et al. (2013).
Plesiosaurus giganteus was named by Conybeare (1824).

It was synonymized subjectively with Plesiosaurus brachyspondylus by Owen (1840); it was synonymized subjectively with Pliosaurus brachydirus by Lydekker (1889); it was synonymized subjectively with Pliosaurus brachyspondylus by Tarlo (1959); it was synonymized subjectively with Pliosaurus brachydeirus by Delair (1960); it was considered a nomen nudum by Tarlo (1960); it was considered a nomen oblitum by Benson et al. (2013).
Pliosaurus portentificus was named by Noè et al. (2004). Its type specimen is CAMSM J.46380, a mandible, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Ely, Roswell Pits, which is in a Kimmeridgian marine horizon in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of the United Kingdom.

It was considered a nomen dubium by Knutsen (2012) and Benson et al. (2013).
Stretosaurus was named by Tarlo (1959) [Sepkoski's age data: J u J Tith-l].

It was synonymized subjectively with Liopleurodon by Halstead (1989); it was synonymized subjectively with Pliosaurus by Benson et al. (2013).

It was assigned to Pliosauridae by Tarlo (1960) and Carroll (1988); and to Plesiosauria by Sepkoski (2002).
Cetiosaurus rigauxi was named by Sauvage (1874). Its type specimen is MHNB 233, a set of vertebrae, and it is not a trace fossil. Its type locality is Portel, Boulogne, which is in a Tithonian marine horizon in France.

It was considered a nomen dubium by Sauvage (1895).
Spondylosaurus was named by Fischer (1845).

It was synonymized subjectively with Pliosaurus by Lydekker (1889).

It was assigned to Ichthyosauridae by d'Orbigny (1849); and to Sauropterygia by Owen (1861).
Ischyrodon was named by Merian (1838).

It was synonymized subjectively with Pliosaurus by Lydekker (1889).

It was assigned to Saurii by Meyer (1845); and to Sauria by Quenstedt (1852).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1824	Plesiosaurus giganteus Conybeare
1838	Ischyrodon Merian
1841	Plesiosaurus (Pleiosaurus) Owen pp. 282-285 figs. Plate 68, fig. 5-5''
1842	Pliosaurus Owen p. 64
1845	Spondylosaurus Fischer
1845	Pliosaurus Meyer p. 281
1845	Ischyrodon Meyer p. 282
1849	Pliosaurus d'Orbigny p. 211
1849	Spondylosaurus d'Orbigny p. 211
1852	Ischyrodon Quenstedt p. 119
1859	Pliosaurus Owen p. 148
1860	Pliosaurus Owen p. 232
1861	Pliosaurus Owen p. 252
1861	Spondylosaurus Owen p. 255
1871	Pliosaurus Cope p. 235
1871	Pleiosaurus Phillips
1874	Cetiosaurus rigauxi Sauvage p. 19
1874	Pliosaurus Seeley
1875	Pliosaurus Cope p. 15
1889	Pliosaurus Lydekker pp. 120-123 fig. 36
1903	Pliosaurus Stefano p. 66
1913	Pliosaurus Andrews p. 2
1940	Pliosaurus White p. 465
1948	Peloneustes irigisensis Novozhilov p. 118 fig. 1b
1959	Stretosaurus Tarlo
1960	Pliosaurus Delair p. 69
1960	Pliosaurus Tarlo p. 152
1960	Stretosaurus Tarlo p. 159
1960	Pliosaurus irgisensis Tarlo p. 174
1988	Pliosaurus Carroll
1988	Stretosaurus Carroll
1999	Pliosaurus Malakhov p. 241
2000	Pliosaurus irgisensis Storrs et al. p. 192
2002	Pliosaurus Sepkoski
2002	Stretosaurus Sepkoski
2004	Pliosaurus Noè et al. p. 14
2004	Pliosaurus portentificus Noè et al. p. 14 figs. 1-2
2010	Pliosaurus Ketchum and Benson p. 15
2011	Pliosaurus Ketchum and Benson p. 126
2012	Pliosaurus Knutsen p. 260
2012	Pliosaurus Knutsen et al. pp. 238-239
2012	Pliosaurus Sassoon et al. p. 4 figs. 2-11
2013	Pliosaurus Benson et al.
2014	Pliosaurus Benson and Druckenmiller figs. 2-3
2018	Pliosaurus O'Gorman et al.

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria

Rank	Name	Author
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
—	Sauropsida
class	Reptilia
subclass	Eureptilia	()
—	Romeriida
—	Diapsida	()
suborder	Sauropterygia
—	Plesiosauria	(de Blainville 1835)
family	Pliosauridae	Seeley 1874
—	Thalassophonea
genus	Pliosaurus	()

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. †Pliosaurus Owen 1841

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†Pleiosaurus macromerus Phillips 1871

†Pliosaurus almanzaensis O'Gorman et al. 2018

†Pliosaurus andrewsi Tarlo 1960

†Pliosaurus brachydeirus Owen 1841

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Invalid names: Peloneustes sterrodeirus Seeley 1869 [synonym]

†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]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
R. Lydekker 1889	Skull relatively very large, elongated, with moderately long mandibular symphysis, which usually extends to the 7th tooth, and the premaxillary and opposing lower teeth enlarged. Teeth large and stout, with strongly marked ridges, and generally a pair of carinas, which are frequently separated by a smooth space. Neck short, with the anterior vertebrae large. Vertebras with the arches and cervical ribs articulating to the centrum only by synchondrosis, and with flat zygapophyses ; cervicals (fig. 38) with very short centra, which in the anterior region carry two distinct costal facets and have very slightly cupped terminal faces, but in the posterior region have flattened faces and single facets ; dorsals with flat faces and a forward overhang of upper part of centrum. Centra of middle cervicals with subcylindrical terminal faces, but those at the extremities of the series with the same faces transversely elliptical. Pectoral girdle (fig. 36) of the general type of that of Peloneustes (infra), the ventral plates of the scapulae either meeting in the median line or perhaps separated by a small omosternum ; coracoids apparently not produced in advance of glenoid cavity. Ventral plates of scapulae large, broad, and flat, the dorsal portion being relatively smaller than in Thaumatosaurus (infra). In the pelvis the pubis nearly square ; ischia elongated (as in fig. 44). In the adult the pubis may have joined the ischium to form an obturator foramen. Humerus shorter than femur, and articulating with only the radius and ulna, which are shortened, oblong, and separated by a very small interval.
E. M. Knutsen 2012	Pliosaurid plesiosaurian with 6-9 pairs of teeth adjacent to the mandibular symphysis (counted to a transverse line drawn across the dentary where the posterodorsal fusion of the dentaries ends); anterior teeth with a flat, smooth labial surface, convex lingual surface with longitudinal enamelled ridges, and that are trihedral in cross-section.
R. B. J. Benson et al. 2013	Pliosaurids possessing seven autapomorphies: (1) trihedral or subtrihedral teeth (although similar teeth are also present in Gallardosaurus iturraldei from the Oxfordian of Cuba [12], which may or may not be referable to Pliosaurus; see Phylogenetic analysis); (2) anterior end of premaxilla–maxilla contact on lateral surface of snout deeply interdigitating with an anteroposteriorly ‘zig-zagging’ appearance; (3) occipital condyle lacking notochordal pit, but scored by several, irregularly-arranged grooves; (4) first (mesialmost) premaxillary alveolus reduced to approximately half or less the diameter of the second alveolus (although an even smaller, perhaps vestigial, first alveolus may be present in some Cretaceous pliosaurids [27]); (5) long posteroventral process of the jugal ventrally underlaps the squamosal; (6) dorsal surface of surangular mediolaterally broad, as in other thalassophonean pliosaurids, but inclined to face dorsolaterally (except in Pliosaurus carpenteri n. sp.) and bounded laterally by an anteroposteriorly oriented groove, unlike in other pliosaurids (this groove is absent in P. carpenteri and an immature specimen proposed as the ‘neotype’ of Pliosaurus brachyspondylus by Knutsen [34], CAMSM (Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Cambridge, United Kingdom) J.35991); (7) proximal surfaces of radius and tibia markedly convex in large individuals (possibly controlled by ontogeny and absent in immature specimens such as CAMSM J.35991 and the holotype of Pliosaurus brachydeirus).

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 Middle Callovian to the top of the Late/Upper Maastrichtian or 164.70000 to 66.00000 Ma

Collections (50 total)

Time interval	Ma	Country or state	Original ID and collection number
Jurassic	201.3 - 145.0	United Kingdom (England)	Pliosaurus indet. (141865)
Callovian	166.1 - 163.5	France (Poitou-Charentes)	P. sp. (106921)
Middle Callovian	164.7 - 161.2	United Kingdom (England)	Peloneustes evansi (109800) P. grandis (133067)
Oxfordian	163.5 - 157.3	United Kingdom (England)	P. grossouvrei (141850)
Oxfordian	163.5 - 157.3	Poland (Śląskie)	P. andrewsi (106467)
Late/Upper Oxfordian	161.2 - 155.7	United Kingdom (England)	P. sp. (36582) P. sp., P. grossouvrei (91991)
Middle Oxfordian	161.2 - 155.7	United Kingdom (Oxfordshire)	P. grossouvrei (42340)
Kimmeridgian	157.3 - 152.1	United Kingdom (England)	P. brachydirus (47789)
Kimmeridgian	157.3 - 152.1	France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais)	P. grandis (65033)
Kimmeridgian - Early/Lower Tithonian	157.3 - 145.0	United Kingdom (England)	P. brachydeirus (138286) P. brachydirus (92096 139861 139862) P. gamma (119666) Pliosaurus indet. (141828) Pliosaurus indet., P. brachydeirus (74931) P. sp. (138284) P. sp., P. brachydeirus (138282) P. sp., P. brachydirus (138283)
Kimmeridgian - Tithonian	157.3 - 145.0	United Kingdom (England)	P. brachydirus (52557)
Early/Lower Kimmeridgian	155.7 - 150.8	France (Nord-Pas-de-Calais)	P. brachyspondylus (137236)
Early/Lower Kimmeridgian	155.7 - 150.8	United Kingdom (England)	Liopleurodon macromerus (120291) Plesiosaurus sterrodeirus, P. portentificus, P. brachydirus, P. kevani (119508) P. kevani (145134) P. sp., P. brachydeirus (119665) Stretosaurus macromerus (114894)
Late/Upper Kimmeridgian	155.7 - 150.8	United Kingdom (England)	P. brachydeirus (47421) P. brachyspondylus (100263) P. grandis (119504) P. sp. (70996 127610)
Late/Upper Kimmeridgian - Early/Lower Tithonian	155.7 - 145.0	United Kingdom (England)	P. brachydirus (139859) P. macromerus (140224)
Tithonian	152.1 - 145.0	United Kingdom (England)	P. sp. (93105)
Tithonian	152.1 - 145.0	Norway (Spitsbergen)	P. funkei (134742 134743)
Tithonian	152.1 - 145.0	Russian Federation (Saratov)	P. irgisensis (127414)
Tithonian	152.1 - 145.0	Russian Federation (Chuvash)	Liopleurodon rossicus (127453)
Early/Lower Tithonian	150.8 - 145.0	Argentina (Neuquén)	Liopleurodon sp. (79651)
Late/Upper Tithonian	150.8 - 145.0	Russian Federation (Saratov)	P. grandis (127456)
Late/Upper Tithonian	150.8 - 145.0	Argentina (Neuquén)	P. almanzaensis (196358) P. sp. (140285)
Late/Upper Tithonian	150.8 - 145.0	United Kingdom (England)	P. brachydeirus (141825)
Middle Tithonian	150.8 - 145.0	France (Pas-de-Calais)	Cetiosaurus rigauxi (53966)
Early/Lower Aptian	125.45 - 122.46	United Kingdom (England)	P. sp. (36581)
Late/Upper Aptian	122.46 - 112.03	United Kingdom (England)	P. sp. (58095)
Early/Lower Albian	112.03 - 109.0	France (Champagne-Ardenne)	P. sp. (55335)
Late/Upper Maastrichtian	70.6 - 66.0	Chile (Concepcíon)	P. sp. (13309)