Microcleidus
| Microcleidus Temporal range: Toarcian
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|---|---|
| File:Microcleidus NHM.jpg | |
| Fossil M. homalospondylus | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Superfamily: | †Plesiosauroidea |
| Family: | †Microcleididae |
| Genus: | †Microcleidus Watson, 1909 |
| Type species | |
| Plesiosaurus homalospondylus (Owen, 1865)
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| Other species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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M. macropteus
M. tournemirensis
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Microcleidus is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile belonging to the Plesiosauroidea. The species has 40 neck vertebrae and a short tail of 28 vertebrae. Fossils of the genus have been found in France, the Posidonia Shale in Germany and Luxembourg, and the Alum Shale Formation of England.
Description
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The type species, M. homalospondylus, was the largest, measuring 5.1 m (17 ft) long and weighing 650 kg (1,430 lb). Other species were smaller: M. tournemirensis was about 4 m (13 ft) long and weighed 300 kg (660 lb), and M. melusinae was about 3 m (9.8 ft) long and weighed 120 kg (260 lb).[1][2][3]
Classification
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Species include: Microcleidus homalospondylus (Owen 1865) and Microcleidus macropterus (Seeley 1865).
Occitanosaurus tournemirensis (originally "Plesiosaurus" tournemirensis), was named by Sciau et al. in 1990, based on a nearly complete skeleton of an animal approximately 4 meters (13 ft) long.[1] It was later found to be a species of Microcleidus.
The following cladogram follows an analysis by Ketchum & Benson, 2011.[4]
See also
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Ketchum HF, Benson RBJ. Global interrelationships of Plesiosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses. Biological Reviews
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Microcleidus macropterus, a Lower Jurassic plesiosaur from the Yorkshire Lias at Sachs Vertebrate Palaeontology Research
Bibliography
[edit | edit source]- Bardet, Nathalie; Fernandez, Marta; Garcia-Ramos, Jose Carlos; Superbiola, Xabier Pereda; Pinuela, Laura; Ruiz-Omenaca, Jose Ignacio; and Vincent, Peggy (2008). "A juvenile plesiosaur from the Pliensbackian (Lower Jurassic) of Asturias, Spain". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 28(1): 258–263
- [1] Plesiosaur.com 13 Oct 2006
- [2][permanent dead link] Palæos.com 13 Oct 2006
- [3]
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