Pliosaurus

genus of reptiles (fossil)

Pliosaurus was an extinct genus of gigantic plesiosaur from the late Jurassic of Europe and South America. Their diet included fish, cephalopods, and marine reptiles.

Pliosaurus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 155.7–147 Ma
P. kevani holotype skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Sauropterygia
Order: Plesiosauria
Family: Pliosauridae
Clade: Thalassophonea
Genus: Pliosaurus
Owen, 1842
Type species
Pliosaurus brachydeirus
Owen, 1842
Species[1][2]
  • P. brachydeirus
    (Owen, 1841)
  • P. carpenteri
    Benson et al., 2013
  • P. funkei
    Knutsen et al., 2012
  • P. kevani
    Benson et al., 2013
  • P. rossicus
    Novozhilov, 1948
  • P. westburyensis
    Benson et al., 2013
Species pending reassessment
    • P. brachyspondylus
      (Owen, 1839)
    • P. macromerus
      (Philips, 1871)
Species pending ICZN petition
    • P. patagonicus
      Gasparini & O'Gorman, 2014
    • P. almanzaensis
      Gasparini, Spalleti & O'Gorman, 2018
Synonyms
  • Stretosaurus
    Tarlo, 1960
  • Spondylosaurus
    Fischer, 1845
  • Plesiosaurus giganteus
    Conybeare, 1824
  • Plesiosaurus recentior
    Parkinson, 1822
  • Liopleurodon rossicus
    (Novozhilov, 1948)

Most European species of Pliosaurus grew to about 8 metres (26 ft) long and weighed about 5 metric tons (5.5 short tons). Some would have been the largest plesiosaurs of all time, more than 10 metres (33 ft) in length. Their teeth were triangular in cross section.

References

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  1. Benson, R.B.J.; Evans, M.; Smith, A.S.; Sassoon, J.; Moore-Faye, S.; Ketchum, H.F.; Forrest, R. (2013). Butler, Richard J (ed.). "A giant Pliosaurid skull from the Late Jurassic of England". PLOS ONE. 8 (5): e65989. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...865989B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065989. PMC 3669260. PMID 23741520.
  2. Espen M. Knutsen (2012). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Pliosaurus (Owen, 1841a) Owen, 1841b". Norwegian Journal of Geology. 92 (2–3): 259–276. ISSN 0029-196X. Low resolution pdf Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine High resolution pdf Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine