Leptocleidia Explained

Leptocleidia is a clade of plesiosauroids.^[1] The group was erected in 2007 as Leptocleidoidea.^[2] Although established as a clade, the name Leptocleidoidea implies that it is a superfamily. Leptocleidoidea is placed within the superfamily Plesiosauroidea, so it was renamed Leptocleidia by Hilary F. Ketchum and Roger B. J. Benson (2010) to avoid confusion with ranks. Leptocleidia is a node-based taxon which was defined by Ketchum and Benson as "Leptocleidus superstes, Polycotylus latipinnis, their most recent common ancestor and all of its descendants".^[1]

Notes and References

1. Ketchum . H.F. . Benson, R.B.J. . 2010 . Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses . Biological Reviews . 85 . 2 . 361–392 . 10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00107.x . 20002391. 12193439 .
2. Druckenmiller . P.S. . Russel, A.P. . 2007 . A phylogeny of Plesiosauria (Sauropterygia) and its bearing on the systematic status of Leptocleidus Andrews, 1922 . Zootaxa . 1863 . 1–120 . 10.11646/zootaxa.1863.1.1 . 978-1-86977-262-8 . 1175-5334 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111004103333/http://www.bio.ucalgary.ca/contact/faculty/pdf/russell/321.pdf . 2011-10-04 .