Pelagosaurus

Pelagosaurus
Temporal range: 183–176 Ma Toarcian
Cast of Pelagosaurus typus (skeleton and scutes) at the Field Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Pseudosuchia
Clade: Crocodylomorpha
Clade: Crocodyliformes
Suborder: Thalattosuchia
Genus: Pelagosaurus
Bronn, 1841[1]
Species:
P. typus
Binomial name
Pelagosaurus typus
Bronn, 1841[1]
Synonyms
  • Mosellaesaurus Monard, 1846

Pelagosaurus (meaning "lizard of the open sea") is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 Ma to 176 Ma (million years ago), in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe. The systematic taxonomy of Pelagosaurus has been fiercely disputed over the years, and was assigned to Thalattosuchia after its systematics within Teleosauridae were disputed. Pelagosaurus measured 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) long.[2]

  1. ^ a b Bronn HG. 1841. Über die fossilen Gaviale der Lias-Formation und der Oolithe. Archiv für Naturgeschichte, Berlin 8:77–82.
  2. ^ Attila Ősi; Mark T. Young; András Galácz; Márton Rabi (2018). "A new crocodyliform thalattosuchian large body from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Hungary, with further evidence of the mosaic acquisition of marine adaptations in Metriorhynchoidea". PeerJ. 6: e4668. doi:10.7717/peerj.4668. PMC 5949208. PMID 29761038.