Franconiasaurus

Franconiasaurus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic
(late Toarcian), ~175 Ma
↓
Holotype specimen of Franconiasaurus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: †Sauropterygia
Order: †Plesiosauria
Superfamily: †Plesiosauroidea
Genus: †Franconiasaurus
Species:
†F. brevispinus
Binomial name
†Franconiasaurus brevispinus
Sachs, Eggmaier & Madzia, 2024

Franconiasaurus (meaning "Franconia reptile") is an extinct genus of basal plesiosauroid plesiosaurs from the Early Jurassic of Germany. The genus contains a single species, F. brevispinus, known from two well-preserved three-dimensional skeletons.[1]

  1. ^ Sachs, Sven; Eggmaier, Stefan; Madzia, Daniel (2024-02-16). "Exquisite skeletons of a new transitional plesiosaur fill gap in the evolutionary history of plesiosauroids". Frontiers in Earth Science. 12. Bibcode:2024FrEaS..1241470S. doi:10.3389/feart.2024.1341470.