Rhomaleosauridae
| Rhomaleosauridae | ||||||||||||
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Fossil of Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni in the Natural History Museum in London |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Lower Jurassic ( Hettangian ) to Lower Cretaceous ( Albian ) | ||||||||||||
| 201.3 to 100.5 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Rhomaleosauridae | ||||||||||||
| Nopcsa , 1928 |
The Rhomaleosauridae (= "robust lizards") are a family of Plesiosauria that existed from the Lower Jurassic to the Lower Cretaceous .
features
The Rhomaleosauridae had a relatively short neck and a large head that could reach one eighth to one sixth of the body length (up to 8 meters).
At the front end of the relatively short snout sat a spoon-shaped rosette with large, strong fangs. The comparatively stiff neck was 1.5 to twice the length of the skull, reached 20 to 30% of the body length and was supported by 26 to 30 cervical vertebrae with short centra. The number of trunk vertebrae was about 20 and the number of caudal vertebrae about 37.
Systematics
The monophyly of the Rhomaleosauridae is not certain. They could also be a paraphyletic group of primitive pliosaurs and the common features of convergent evolutions resulting from the same hunting techniques. Scientists who hold this view, however, often use the term "rhomaleosaurid" to describe pliosaurs that have a specific body and skull morphology.
Genera
- Archaeonectrus
- Borealonectes
- Eurycleidus
- Leptocleidus
- Macroplata
- Maresaurus
- Rhomaleosaurus
- Simolestes
- Sthenarosaurus
- Umoonasaurus
Individual evidence
- ↑ Plesiosauria.com Rhomaliosauridae ( Memento of the original from July 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Richard Ellis : Sea Dragons. Predators of the Prehistoric Oceans. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence KS 2003, ISBN 0-7006-1269-6 , p. 192.
- ↑ a b Ben Creisler: Plesiosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide Rhomaleosauridae ( Memento of the original from October 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
