Plesiopleurodon

Plesiopleurodon
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 98 Ma
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Holotype skull of Plesiopleurodon wellesi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: †Sauropterygia
Order: †Plesiosauria
Family: †Polycotylidae
Genus: †Plesiopleurodon
Carpenter, 1996 [1]
Species

Plesiopleurodon (/ˌpliːsiəˈplʊərədɒn/; Greek: plesios, meaning “near to”, pleuro, meaning “side”, and don, meaning “tooth”) is an extinct genus of Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia, known from the Late Cretaceous of North America. It was named by Kenneth Carpenter based on a complete skull with a mandible, cervical vertebra, and a coracoid.[2] In naming the specimen, Carpenter noted "Of all known pliosauroids, Plesiopleurodon wellesi most closely resembles Liopleurodon ferox from the Oxfordian of Europe, hence the generic reference."[2] It was initially described as a pliosauroid due to it short neck, a common trait of the superfamily (although it is in the order Plesiosauria).[2][3][4] However, later exploration into the relationships of both groups indicate that not all pliosauroids have short necks and not all plesiosauroids have long necks.[2] Later research indicates it is a member of the Polycotylidae, within the clade Occultonectia.

It is distinguishable by its short neck, elongated head, and comparatively few teeth in the symphysis when compared to other plesiosaurs.[2][5]

  1. ^ a b Carpenter K. 1996. A review of short-necked plesiosaurs from the Cretaceous of the Western Interior, North America. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 210 (2): 259-287.
  2. ^ a b c d e Carpenter, Kenneth (1996-09-27). "A review of short-necked plesiosaurs from the Cretaceous of the Western Interior, North America" (PDF). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 201 (2): 259–287. doi:10.1127/njgpa/201/1996/259. ISSN 0077-7749.
  3. ^ Druckenmiller, Patrick; Knutsen, Espen (2012-01-01). "Phylogenetic relationships of Upper Jurassic (Middle Volgian) plesiosaurians (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Agardhfjellet Formation of central Spitsbergen, Norway". Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift. 92: 277–284.
  4. ^ Benson, Roger B. J.; Druckenmiller, Patrick S. (2014). "Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition". Biological Reviews. 89 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1111/brv.12038. ISSN 1469-185X. PMID 23581455. S2CID 19710180.
  5. ^ Schumacher, Bruce A. (September 2008). "On the skull of a pliosaur (Plesiosauria; Pliosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous (Early Turonian) of the North American Western Interior". Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. 111 (3): 203–218. doi:10.1660/0022-8443-111.3.203. ISSN 0022-8443. S2CID 86751839.