Archaeonectrus

Archaeonectrus is an extinct genus of pliosaur from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) of what is now southeastern England. The type species is Archaeonectrus (originally "Plesiosaurus") rostratus, first named by Sir Richard Owen in 1865, which was moved to its own genus by N.I. Novozhilov in 1964. It was a relatively small plesiosaur, measuring 3.4–3.67 m (11.2–12.0 ft) long.^[1][2]

Additional specimen

Archaeonectrus Temporal range: Early Jurassic, Sinemurian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Holotype specimen NHMUK PV OR 38525
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Family:	†Rhomaleosauridae
Genus:	†Archaeonectrus Novozhilov, 1964
Type species
†Archaeonectrus rostratus Owen, 1865

Not to be confused with Archaeonectes.

Classification

Illustration of the holotype specimen, NHMUK PV OR 38525 (formerly BMNH 38525), dated to c. 1870

Life restoration

The cladogram below shows Archaeonectrus phylogenetic position among other plesiosaurs, following Benson et al. (2012).^[3]

Plesiosauria	Neoplesiosauria Pliosauridae Plesiosauroidea Rhomaleosauridae Stratesaurus taylori Macroplata tenuiceps Avalonnectes arturi Eurycleidus arcuatus Meyerasaurus victor Maresaurus coccai Atychodracon megacephalus Archaeonectrus rostratus Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni Rhomaleosaurus thorntoni Rhomaleosaurus zetlandicus

See also

• paleontology portal

• Timeline of plesiosaur research
• List of plesiosaur genera