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Microcleidus

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Microcleidus
Temporal range: Toarcian
~182–175 Ma
Fossil M. homalospondylus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Sauropterygia
Order: Plesiosauria
Family: Microcleididae
Genus: Microcleidus
Watson, 1909
Type species
Plesiosaurus homalospondylus
(Owen, 1865)
Other species
  • M. macropterus (Seeley, 1865)
  • M. tournemirensis (Sciau et al., 1990)
  • M. melusinae Vincent et al., 2019
Synonyms

M. macropteus

  • Plesiosaurus macropteus Seeley, 1865
  • Eretmosaurus macropterus Benton and Spencer, 1995

M. tournemirensis

  • Plesiosaurus tournemirensis Sciau et al., 1990
  • Occitanosaurus tournemirensis
    Bardet et al., 1999

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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Restoration of M. homalospondylus
Fossils of M. tournemirensis alongside belemnites

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.

Fossils and reconstruction of Microcleidus tournemirensis

The following cladogram follows an analysis by Ketchum & Benson, 2011.[4]

 Pistosauria 

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 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
  2. ^ Valentin Fischer; Nikolay G. Zverkov; Maxim S. Arkhangelsky; Ilya M. Stenshin; Ivan V. Blagovetshensky; Gleb N. Uspensky (2020). "A new elasmosaurid plesiosaurian from the Early Cretaceous of Russia marks an early attempt at neck elongation". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (4): 1167–1194. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa103. hdl:2268/251614.Supplementary Information
  3. ^ Paul, Gregory S. (2022). The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles. Princeton University Press. pp. 108–109. doi:10.1515/9780691241456. ISBN 9780691193809. S2CID 251553177.
  4. ^ Hilary F. Ketchum; Roger B. J. Benson (2011). "A new pliosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of England: evidence for a gracile, longirostrine grade of Early-Middle Jurassic pliosaurids". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 86: 109–129.

Bibliography

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