Vinialesaurus

Vinialesaurus Temporal range: Oxfordian ~161–156 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Restoration
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Family:	†Cryptoclididae
Genus:	†Vinialesaurus Gasparini et al., 2002
Species:	†V. caroli
Binomial name
†Vinialesaurus caroli Gasparini et al., 2002
Synonyms
Cryptocleidus caroli De la Torre & Rojas, 1949

Vinialesaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) Jagua Formation of Pinar del Río, Cuba. The type species is Vinialesaurus caroli, first described as Cryptocleidus caroli by De la Torre and Rojas in 1949 under the holotype MNHNCu P 3008,^[1] and redescribed by Gasparini, Bardet and Iturralde in 2002. The authors of the 2002 paper considered Vinialesaurus distinct enough from Cryptocleidus to warrant its own genus, but it was broadly similar to Cryptocleidus.^[2]

The name Vinialesaurus honors Viñales, the town in western Cuba where the fossils of Vinialesaurus was discovered. These fossils consist of a mostly complete skull, jaw, and portions of the vertebrae.^[2]