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.
Quick facts Scientific classification, Type species ...
Pliosaurus
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P. kevani holotype skull |
Scientific 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
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- †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
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Synonyms |
- Stretosaurus
Tarlo, 1960
- Spondylosaurus
Fischer, 1845
- Plesiosaurus giganteus
Conybeare, 1824
- Plesiosaurus recentior
Parkinson, 1822
- Liopleurodon rossicus
(Novozhilov, 1948)
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Close
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.