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Plesiosaurus (Greek: plesios, near to + sauros, lizard) was a large (about 3 to 5 meters long), marine Sauropterygian reptile that lived during the early part of the Jurassic Period, and is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England and Germany. It was distinguished by its small head, long and slender neck, broad turtle like body, a short tail, and two pairs of large, elongated paddles. It lends its name to the order Plesiosauria, of which it is an early but fairly typical member. Massive cliffs in Zion Canyon consist of Lower Jurassic formations, including (from bottom to top): the Wingate Sandstone, the Kayenta Formation, and the massive Navajo Sandstone. ...
Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...
The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ...
FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ...
Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ...
“Animalia†redirects here. ...
Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ...
Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ...
Groups ?Placodontia Pachypleurosauridae Nothosauridae Plesiosauria Sauropterygia (lizard flippers) is a group of very successful aquatic reptiles that flourished during the Age of the Dinosaurs before they became extinct. ...
Families Cryptoclididae Elasmosauridae Plesiosauridae Pliosauridae Plesiosaurs (PLEE-see-oh-SORES) were large, carnivorous aquatic reptiles. ...
Families Plesiosaurs (IPA ) (Greek: plesios, near to + sauros, lizard) were large, carnivorous aquatic reptiles. ...
John Edward Gray. ...
William Daniel Conybeare (June 7, 1787 - August 12, 1857), dean of Llandaff, one of the most distinguished of English geologists, who was born in London, was a grandson of John Conybeare, bishop of Bristol (1602-1785), a notable preacher and divine, and son of Dr William Conybeare, rector of Bishopsgate. ...
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ...
In zoological nomenclature, a type is a specimen or a taxon. ...
In zoological nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names that pertain to the same taxon, for example two names for the same species. ...
In zoological nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names that pertain to the same taxon, for example two names for the same species. ...
Groups ?Placodontia Pachypleurosauridae Nothosauridae Plesiosauria Sauropterygia (lizard flippers) is a group of very successful aquatic reptiles that flourished during the Age of the Dinosaurs before they became extinct. ...
Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ...
The Jurassic Period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 199. ...
Lias may refer to: Lias, the lower Jurassic period which saw much deposition of clay followed by limestone. ...
Families Cryptoclididae Elasmosauridae Plesiosauridae Pliosauridae Plesiosaurs (PLEE-see-oh-SORES) were large, carnivorous aquatic reptiles. ...
Discovery
Plesiosaurus was one of the first of the "antediluvian reptiles" to be discovered (by Mary Anning), and excited great interest in Victorian England. It was so-named ("near lizard") by William Conybeare, to indicate that it was more like a normal reptile than Ichthyosaurus, which had been found in the same rock strata just a few years previously. Mary Anning (May 21, 1799 – March 9, 1847) was an early British fossil collector and paleontologist. ...
redirect Victorian eramonkey ...
William Daniel Conybeare (June 7, 1787 - August 12, 1857), dean of Llandaff, one of the most distinguished of English geologists, who was born in London, was a grandson of John Conybeare, bishop of Bristol (1602-1785), a notable preacher and divine, and son of Dr William Conybeare, rector of Bishopsgate. ...
Groups Cymbospondylus Mixosauridae Merriamosauria Shastasauridae/Shastasauria Euichthyosauria Parvipelvia Leptonectidae Thunnosauria Stenopterygidae Ichthyosauridae Ichthyosaurs (Greek for fish lizards) were giant marine reptiles that resemble a dolphin with teeth (see convergent evolution). ...
Description
 Drawing of a Plesiosaurus The snout is short, but the mouth was able to open very wide, and the jaws are provided with a series of conical teeth in sockets, much like those of the living gavial. The neck is long and slender, but seems to have been rather stiff, because the vertebrae are nearly flat-ended, which indicates that it could not have been bent in the swan-fashion represented in many old restorations. The other vertebrae are similarly almost flat-ended and firmly united, and there is no sacrum. The ribs are single-headed, and in the middle of the trunk, between the supports of the paired limbs, they meet a dense plastron of abdominal ribs. The short tail is straight and rapidly tapering, Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...
Binomial name Gavialis gangeticus (Gmelin, 1789) Taxonomy The Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) is the only surviving member of the family Gavialidae, a long-established group of crocodile-like reptiles with long, narrow jaws. ...
For the record label, see Sacrum Torch. ...
The pectoral and pelvic girdles which support the paired limbs are greatly expanded, the pectoral arch being similar to the corresponding bones of turtles.
The limbs are elongated paddles, with five complete digits, although each consists of a very large number of phalanges. Some traces of skin discovered suggest that it was smooth, not scaly. The phalanges in a human hand The name Phalanges is commonly given to the bones that form fingers and toes. ...
Food and Hunting Plesiosaurus fed on belemnites, fish and other prey.It's U-shaped jaw and sharp teeth would have been like a fish trap. It propelled itself by the paddles, the tail being too short to be of much use. It's neck could have been used has a rudder when making turn during a chase. Extinct Orders Aulacocerida Phragmoteuthida Belemnitida Diplobelida Belemnoteuthina Belemnites (or belemnoids) are an extinct group of marine cephalopod, very similar in many ways to the modern squid and closely related to the modern cuttlefish. ...
ugly, replace if you can! File links The following pages link to this file: Plesiosaur User:Fredrik/Contributions Sauropterygia Categories: GFDL images ...
ugly, replace if you can! File links The following pages link to this file: Plesiosaur User:Fredrik/Contributions Sauropterygia Categories: GFDL images ...
Ecology It is unknown if Plesiosaurs layed eggs on land like sea turtles or give live birth in the water like sea snakes. The young might have lived in estuaries before going in the opean ocean. Genera Family Cheloniidae (Oppel, 1811) Caretta Chelonia Eretmochelys Lepidochelys Natator Family Dermochelyidae Dermochelys Family Protostegidae (extinct) Family Toxochelyidae (extinct) Family Thalassemyidae (extinct) Sea turtles (Chelonioidea) are turtles found in all the worlds oceans except the Arctic Ocean, and some species travel between oceans. ...
Genus Aipysurus Amydocephalus Acalyptophis Astrotia Enhydrina Ephalophis Hydrelaps Hydrophis Kerilia Kolpophis Lapemis Parahydrophis Pelamis Thalassophina Thalassophis Laticauda Sea snakes of several different species belong to a group related to the cobras but are aquatic rather than land dwelling. ...
Rio de la Plata estuary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Estuaries An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. ...
Species At one time, Plesiosaurus was a wastebasket taxon used to describe any Mesozoic plesiosaur of generally similar appearance. More recently there has been a number of revisions in sauropterygian taxonomy, and many species previously included here have been moved to other genera and families. Only two species are unambiguiously recognised. Image File history File links Plesiosaur_anning. ...
Image File history File links Plesiosaur_anning. ...
Wastebin taxon (also called a wastebasket, or dustbin taxon) is a term used in taxonomic circles that refers to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that dont fit anywhere else. ...
Families Plesiosaurs (IPA ) (Greek: plesios, near to + sauros, lizard) were large, carnivorous aquatic reptiles. ...
Orders ?Thalattosauriformes Placodontia Nothosauroidea Plesiosauria Sauropterygia (lizard flippers) is a group of very successful aquatic reptiles that flourished during the Age of the Dinosaurs before they became extinct. ...
For other uses of the word, please see Genus (disambiguation). ...
In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ...
Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus is the type species, known from the Lower Lias (Sinemurian) of Lyme Regis, which was about three metres long. Other plesiosauria from the same formation seem to have measured five to six metres in length. Type specimens When a new species is discovered, more important than creating a new and unique name for the species is developing a reasonably detailed description. ...
The Sinemurian is a stage of the Early Jurassic Epoch. ...
Lyme Regis (IPA: ) is a coastal town in West Dorset, England, situated 25 miles west of Dorchester and 25 miles east of Exeter. ...
Families Cryptoclididae Elasmosauridae Plesiosauridae Pliosauridae Plesiosaurs (PLEE-see-oh-SORES) were large, carnivorous aquatic reptiles. ...
Plesiosaurus guilelmiimperatoris is known from a large almost complete skeleton from the Upper Lias (Toarcian) of Württemberg. There seems to be the impression of a rhomboidal flap of skin in a vertical plane; if so, many plesiosaurs may have been equipped in this way. The Toarcian Stage was the last faunal stage of the Early Jurassic period. ...
Arms of the Kingdom of Württemberg The title of this article contains the character ü. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Wuerttemberg. ...
In popular culture The 1975 film The Land that Time Forgot features a Plesiosaurus attacking the crew of a U-boat. U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ...
References - Richard Owen, Fossil Reptili of the Liassic Formations, pt iii. (Monogr. Palaeont. Soc., 1865)
External links Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Wikijunior Dinosaurs/Plesiosaurs - Genus Plesiosaurus - The Plesiosaur Directory
- Plesiosauroidea - Palaeos
- Plesiosauria – Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...
The Wikimedia Commons (also called Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...
Image File history File links Wikibooks-logo-en. ...
Wikibooks logo Wikibooks, previously called Wikimedia Free Textbook Project and Wikimedia-Textbooks, is a wiki for the creation of books. ...
Encyclopædia Britannica, the 11th edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ...
The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...
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