List of plesiosaur genera explained

This list of plesiosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Plesiosauria, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (nomen dubium), or were not formally published (nomen nudum), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered plesiosaurs. The list currently includes 208 genera.

Scope and terminology

There is no official, canonical list of plesiosaur genera but one of the most thorough attempts can be found on the Plesiosauria section of Mikko Haaramo's Phylogeny Archive;^[1] also pertinent is the Plesiosaur Genera section at Adam Stuart Smith's Plesiosaur Directory.^[2]

Naming conventions and terminology follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Technical terms used include:

• Junior synonym: A name which describes the same taxon as a previously published name. If two or more genera are formally designated and the type specimens are later assigned to the same genus, the first to be published (in chronological order) is the senior synonym, and all other instances are junior synonyms. Senior synonyms are generally used, except by special decision of the ICZN, but junior synonyms cannot be used again, even if deprecated. Junior synonymy is often subjective, unless the genera described were both based on the same type specimen.
• Nomen nudum (Latin for "naked name"): A name that has appeared in print but has not yet been formally published by the standards of the ICZN. Nomina nuda (the plural form) are invalid, and are therefore not italicized as a proper generic name would be. If the name is later formally published, that name is no longer a nomen nudum and will be italicized on this list. Often, the formally published name will differ from any nomina nuda that describe the same specimen. In this case, these nomina nuda will be deleted from this list in favor of the published name.
• Preoccupied name: A name that is formally published, but which has already been used for another taxon. This second use is invalid (as are all subsequent uses) and the name must be replaced. As preoccupied names are not valid generic names, they will also go unitalicized on this list.
• Nomen dubium (Latin for "dubious name"): A name describing a fossil with no unique diagnostic features. As this can be an extremely subjective and controversial designation, this term is not used on this list.

See also

• Sauropterygia
  • Plesiosaur
• List of dinosaurs
• List of ichthyosaurs
• List of mosasaurs
• List of pterosaurs

References

• Web site: Haaramo . Mikko . Plesiosauria . Mikko's Phylogeny Archive . 15 November 2005 . 4 November 2023 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060902043146/http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/Metazoa/Deuterostoma/Chordata/Reptilia/Sauropterygia/Plesiosauria.htm . 2 September 2006.
• Web site: Smith . Adam Stuart . Plesiosaur Genera . The Plesiosaur Directory . 4 November 2023 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20060321174712/http://www.plesiosauria.com/genera.html . 21 March 2006.

Notes and References

1. See Haaramo, Plesiosauria.
2. See Smith, Plesiosaur Genera.
3. A. Yu. Berezin . 2011 . A new plesiosaur of the family Aristonectidae from the early cretaceous of the center of the Russian platform . Paleontological Journal . 45 . 6 . 648–660 . 10.1134/S0031030111060037 . 2011PalJ...45..648B . 129045087 .
4. Marcela Gómez-Pérez . Leslie F. Noè . 2017 . Cranial anatomy of a new pliosaurid Acostasaurus pavachoquensis from the Lower Cretaceous of Colombia, South America . Palaeontographica Abteilung A . 310 . 1–2 . 5–42 . 10.1127/pala/2017/0068 . 2017PalAA.310....5G .
5. Tai Kubo . Mark T. Mitchell . Donald M. Henderson . amp . 2012 . Albertonectes vanderveldei, a new elasmosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 32 . 3 . 557–572 . 10.1080/02724634.2012.658124. 2012JVPal..32..557K . 129500470 .
6. Andrea Cau . Federico Fanti . amp. 2015 . High evolutionary rates and the origin of the Rosso Ammonitico Veronese Formation (Middle-Upper Jurassic of Italy) reptiles . Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology . 28 . 7. 952–962. 10.1080/08912963.2015.1073726 . 86528030 .
7. Peggy Vincent . Roger B. J. Benson . amp . 2012 . Anningasaura, a basal plesiosaurian (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Lower Jurassic of Lyme Regis, United Kingdom . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 32 . 5 . 1049–1063 . 10.1080/02724634.2012.686467. 2012JVPal..32.1049V . 86547069 .
8. Roger B. J. Benson . Mark Evans . Patrick S. Druckenmiller . amp . 2012 . High Diversity, Low Disparity and Small Body Size in Plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary . PLOS ONE . 7 . 3 . e31838 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0031838 . 22438869 . 3306369. 2012PLoSO...731838B . free .
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13. PLESIOSAURS FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS (CENOMANIAN–TURONIAN) TROPIC SHALE OF SOUTHERN UTAH, PART 2: POLYCOTYLIDAEL. Barry Albright Iii, David D. Gillette, and Alan L. Titus, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2007, 27(1):41-58
14. Sachs . Sven . Eggmaier . Stefan . Madzia . Daniel . 2024-02-16 . Exquisite skeletons of a new transitional plesiosaur fill gap in the evolutionary history of plesiosauroids . Frontiers in Earth Science . 12 . 10.3389/feart.2024.1341470 . free. 2024FrEaS..1241470S .
15. Oliver Hampe . 2013 . The forgotten remains of a leptocleidid plesiosaur (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauroidea) from the Early Cretaceous of Gronau (Münsterland, Westphalia, Germany) . Paläontologische Zeitschrift . 87 . 4 . 473–491 . 10.1007/s12542-013-0175-3 . 2013PalZ...87..473H . 129834688 .
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21. Clark . Robert O. . O’Keefe . F. Robin . Slack . Sara E. . 2023-12-24 . A new genus of small polycotylid plesiosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of the Western Interior Seaway and a clarification of the genus Dolichorhynchops . . 157 . 105812 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105812 . 266546582 . 0195-6671.
22. Bruce A. Schumacher. Kenneth Carpenter. Michael J. Everhart. amp . 2013 . A new Cretaceous Pliosaurid (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Carlile Shale (middle Turonian) of Russell County, Kansas . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 33 . 3 . 613–628 . 10.1080/02724634.2013.722576 . 2013JVPal..33..613S . 130165209.
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