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Pliosauridae ✝

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Pliosauridae

Pliosauridae

Oxfordshire, England, UK

Pliosauridae

Pliosauridae

Oxfordshire, England, UK

Pliosauridae

Pliosauridae

Oxfordshire, England, UK

Description

Pliosauridae is a family of plesiosaurian marine reptiles from the Earliest Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous (Hettangian to Turonian stages) of Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Past the Turonian, they may have been replaced by the mosasaurs. It was formally named by Harry G. Seeley in 1874.

From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliosauridae, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	4823613	https://www.gbif.org/species/4823613
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	38178	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=38178

Rank

family

Taxonomy (GBIF)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Pliosauridae

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : Sauropterygia : Pliosauridae

Taxonomic Status (GBIF)

accepted

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Sauropsida	Huxley 1864
class	Reptilia	Laurenti 1768
subclass	Eureptilia
-	Romeriida	Gauthier et al. 1988
-	Diapsida
order	Sauropterygia	Owen 1861
-	Pistosauria
-	Plesiosauria
family	Pliosauridae	Seeley 1874

Scientific Name

Pliosauridae

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Plesiosauria	stated without evidence	Williston, 1903
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Plesiosauria	stated with evidence	Andrews, 1913
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated without evidence	Welles, 1943
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Plesiosauria	stated with evidence	Kuhn, 1946
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Plesiosauria	stated without evidence	Tarlo, 1960
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated without evidence	Delair, 1960
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated with evidence	Welles, 1962
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	implied	Carroll, 1988
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated without evidence	Bardet et al., 1991
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Plesiosauroidea	stated with evidence	Cruickshank, 1994
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated with evidence	Cruickshank, 1994
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated without evidence	Gasparini, 1997
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated with evidence	O'Keefe, 2001
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated without evidence	Schumacher and Everhart, 2005
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated with evidence	Ketchum and Benson, 2010
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Pliosauroidea	stated without evidence	Gomez-Perez and Noe, 2011
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Neoplesiosauria	stated with evidence	Benson et al., 2012
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Plesiosauria	stated with evidence	Benson et al., 2013
Pliosauridae	family	belongs to Plesiosauria	stated without evidence	Cau and Fanti, 2014

Status (PBDB)

extinct

Taxon Size (PBDB)

First Recorded Appearance

209 - 199 Ma
Mesozoic

Last Recorded Appearance

70.6 - 66.0 Ma
Late/Upper Cretaceous

Environment

marine (based on Plesiosauria)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Plesiosauria)

Diet

carnivore (based on Plesiosauria)

Reproduction

viviparous (based on Plesiosauria)

Taphonomy

hydroxylapatite (based on Plesiosauria)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliosauridae

External Images

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Common Name(s)	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Simolestinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)
Anguanax ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)		1	165 Ma Middle Jurassic	165 Ma Middle Jurassic
Arminisaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	190 Ma Early Jurassic	190 Ma Early Jurassic
Attenborosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	199 Ma Early Jurassic	197 Ma Early Jurassic
Bishanopliosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	183 Ma Early Jurassic	174 Ma Middle Jurassic
Brachauchenius ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		8	130 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	93.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Cryonectes ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	190 Ma Early Jurassic	190 Ma Early Jurassic
Eretmosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	197 Ma Early Jurassic	197 Ma Early Jurassic
Gallardosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	161 Ma Jurassic	161 Ma Jurassic
Hauffiosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		4	183 Ma Early Jurassic	182 Ma Early Jurassic
Kronosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		4	125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	105 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Liopleurodon ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		13	166 Ma Middle Jurassic	145 Ma Late Jurassic
Macroplata ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	201 Ma Early Jurassic	201 Ma Early Jurassic
Marmornectes ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	165 Ma Middle Jurassic	165 Ma Middle Jurassic
Megacephalosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	93.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous	93.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Megalneusaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	164 Ma Middle Jurassic	164 Ma Middle Jurassic
Opallionectes ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	125 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Pachycostasaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	165 Ma Middle Jurassic	165 Ma Middle Jurassic
Peloneustes ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		12	166 Ma Middle Jurassic	165 Ma Middle Jurassic
Plesiopleurodon ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous	99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous
Polyptchodon ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Polyptychodon genus	accepted (GBIF)	No associated record in PBDB
Sinopliosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		4	183 Ma Early Jurassic	122 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Stenorhynchosaurus ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	129 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous	129 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous
Strongylokrotaphus ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Thalassiodracon ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		8	209 Ma Late/Upper Triassic	201 Ma Early Jurassic
Thaumatosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	168 Ma Middle Jurassic	168 Ma Middle Jurassic
Yuzhoupliosaurus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		1	174 Ma Middle Jurassic	174 Ma Middle Jurassic
Thalassophonea ✝ unranked clade	listed (PBDB)		124	172 Ma Middle Jurassic	70.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous

Obsolete Names

Name	Source	Taxon Rank	Taxonomy
Pliosaurus aequalis (Phillips, 1871)	GBIF	species	Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : *Pliosaurus aequalis*
Pliosaurus evansi (Seeley, 1869)	GBIF	species	Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : *Pliosaurus evansi*
Pliosaurus sterrodirus Seeley, 1869	GBIF	species	Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : *Pliosaurus sterrodirus*
Peloneustes evansi (Seeley, 1869)	GBIF	species	Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : *Peloneustes evansi*
Peloneustes aequalis (Phillips, 1871)	GBIF	species	Animalia : Chordata : Reptilia : *Peloneustes aequalis*

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1869	Pliosaurus sterrodirus Seeley p. 98
1869	Pliosaurus evansi Seeley p. 116
1871	Pliosaurus evansi Phillips p. 317
1871	Pliosaurus aequalis Phillips p. 365 fig. 164
1874	Pliosauridae Seeley
1889	Pliosaurus evansi Lydekker pp. 128-129 fig. 39
1889	Peloneustes aequalis Lydekker p. 152 fig. 50
1890	Peloneustes evansi Lydekker p. 273
1903	Pliosauridae Williston p. 12
1913	Pliosauridae Andrews p. 1
1913	Peloneustes evansi Andrews p. 71
1940	Pliosauridae White p. 465 figs. 11a-d
1943	Pliosauridae Welles p. 212
1946	Pliosauridae Kuhn p. 59
1960	Pliosauridae Delair p. 69
1960	Pliosauridae Tarlo p. 152
1962	Pliosauridae Welles p. 4
1963	Pliosauridae Persson p. 6
1966	Pliosauridae Kuhn p. 115

Year	Name and Author
1981	Pliosauridae Brown p. 341
1988	Pliosauridae Carroll
1991	Pliosauridae Bardet et al. p. 1346
1993	Pliosauridae Gasparini and Spaletti p. 249
1994	Pliosauridae Cruickshank p. 153
1996	Pliosauridae Cruickshank pp. 109-113
1997	Pliosauridae Cruickshank p. 210
1997	Pliosauridae Gasparini p. 136
2001	Pliosauridae O'Keefe p. 19 fig. 20
2005	Pliosauridae Schumacher and Everhart p. 36
2008	Pliosauridae Araujo et al. p. 25 fig. 6
2010	Pliosauridae Ketchum and Benson p. 15 fig. 6
2011	Pliosauridae Gomez-Perez and Noe
2011	Pliosauridae Ketchum and Benson p. 126
2012	Pliosauridae Benson et al.
2013	Pliosauridae Benson et al.
2014	Pliosauridae Benson and Druckenmiller figs. 2-3
2014	Pliosauridae Cau and Fanti
2018	Pliosauridae O'Gorman et al.

References

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

Phillips J. , Geology of Oxford and the Valley of the Thames. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1-523

Lydekker R. , Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia, Part II. Containing the orders Ichthyopterygia and Sauropterygia

Lydekker R. , Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia of the British Museum of Natural History. Part IV: the orders Anomodontia, Ecaudata, Caudata, and Labyrinthodontia, and supplement, 1-295

Williston S. W. (1903) North American plesiosaurs, part 1, Geological Series Field Museum of Natural History 3 1, 1-77

Andrews C. W. (1913) , A Descriptive Catalogue of the Marine Reptiles of the Oxford Clay. Based on the Leeds Collection in the British Museum (Natural History), London. Part II

White T. E. (1940) Holotype of Plesiosaurus longirostris Blake and classification of the plesiosaurs, Journal of Paleontology 14 5, 451-467

Welles S. P. (1943) Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs with description of new material from California and Colorado, Memoirs of the University of California 13, 125-254

Kuhn O. (1946) Das System der fossilen und rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien [The system of fossil and recent amphibians and reptiles], Bericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft in Bamberg 29, 49-67

Delair J. B. (1960) The Mesozoic reptiles of Dorset. Part two, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 80, 52-90

Tarlo L. B. (1960) A review of Upper Jurassic pliosaurs, Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology Series 14 5, 147-189

Welles S. P. (1962) A new species of elasmosaur from the Aptian of Colombia and a review of the Cretaceous plesiosaurs, University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 44 1, 1-96

Persson P. O. (1963) A revision of the classification of the Plesiosauria, with a synopsis of the stratigraphical and geographical distribution of the group, Lunds Universitets Arsskrift N. F. Serie 2 59 1, 1-57

Kuhn O. W. M. (1966) , Die Reptilien. System und Stammesgeschichte [The Reptiles. Systematics and Phylogeny.], 1-154

Brown D. S. (1981) The English Upper Jurassic Plesiosauroidea (Reptilia) and a review of the phylogeny and classification of the Plesiosauria, Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 35 4, 253-347

Bardet N., Mazin J. -M., et al (1991) Les Plesiosauria du Jurassique supérieur de la province de Kachchh (Inde), Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. Série 2, Mécanique, Physique, Chimie, Sciences de l'univers, Sciences de la Terre 313 11, 1343-1347

Gasparini Z., Spaletti L. (1993) First Callovian plesiosaurs from the Neuquen Basin, Argentina, Ameghiniana 30 3, 245-254

Cruickshank A. R. I. (1994) A juvenile plesiosaur (Plesiosauria: Reptilia) from the Lower Lias (Hettangian: Lower Jurassic) of Lyme Regis, England: a pliosauroid-plesiosauroid intermediate?, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 112, 151-178

Cruickshank A. R. I. (1997) A Lower Cretaceous pliosauroid from South Africa, Annals of the South African Museum 105 2, 207-226

Gasparini Z. (1997) A new pliosaur from the Bajocian of the Neuquen Basin, Argentina, Palaeontology 40 1, 135-147

O'Keefe F. R. (2001) A cladistic analysis and taxonomic revision of the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia), Acta Zoologica Fennica 213, 1-63

Schumacher B. A., Everhart M. J. (2005) A stratigraphic and taxonomic review of plesiosaurs from the old "Fort Benton Group" of central Kansas: a new assessment of old records, Paludicola 5 2, 33-54

Araujo R., Smith A. S., et al (2008) Alfred Leeds fossil vertebrate collection of the National Museum of Ireland - Natural History, Irish Journal of Earth Sciences 26, 17-32

Ketchum H. F., Benson R. B. J. (2010) Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses, Biological Reviews 85, 361-392 doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00107.x

Ketchum H. F., Benson R. B. J. (2011) A new pliosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Oxford CLay Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of England: evidence for a gracile, longirostrine grade of Early-Middle Jurassic pliosaurids, Special Papers in Palaeontology 86, 109-129

Benson R. B. J., Evans M., et al (2012) High diversity, low disparity and small body size in plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic–Jurassic boundary, PLoS ONE 7 3, e31838 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031838

Benson R. B. J., Evans M., et al (2013) A giant pliosaurid skull from the Late Jurassic of England, PLoS ONE 8 5, e65989 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065989

Benson R. B. J., Druckenmiller P. S. (2014) Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition, Biological Reviews 89 1, 1-23 doi:10.1111/brv.12038

Cau A., Fanti F. (2014) A pliosaurid (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Rosso Ammonitico Veronese Formation of Italy, Acta Palaeontologica Polonica doi:10.4202/app.2012.0117

O'Gorman J. P., Gasparini Z., et al (2018) A new Pliosaurus species (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Upper Jurassic of Patagonia: new insights on the Tithonian morphological disparity of mandibular symphyseal morphology, Journal of Paleontology 92 2, 240-253 doi:10.1017/jpa.2017.82

Benton, M.J. (ed). (1993). The Fossil Record 2. Chapman & Hall, London, 845 pp. - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera

SN2000: Brands, S. J. (compiler) 1989-2005. Systema Naturae 2000. Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2006 version). Available online at http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl/. - via The Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

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