Pliosaurus
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| phylum | Chordata | Pliosaurus is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages (Late Jurassic) of Europe and South America. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and marine reptiles. This genus has contained many species in the past but recent reviews found only six to be valid, while the validity of two additional species awaits a petition to the ICZN. Most species of Pliosaurus are notable for their large body size, while the others, P. brachydeirus, P. brachyspondylus and P. portentificus, are known exclusively from immature individuals. Species of this genus are differentiated from other pliosaurids based on seven autapomorphies, including teeth that are triangular in cross section.
For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry. Get back to Sauropterygia |
| clade | Diapsida | |
| superorder | Sauropterygia | |
| order | Plesiosauria | |
| family | Pliosauridae | |
| genus | Pliosaurus | |
| Temporal range | Late Jurassic |
