Lusonectes

Lu-so-nek-teez.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Lusonectes ‭(‬Portugese swimmer‭)‬.

Phonetic

Lu-so-nek-teez.

Named By

Adam S.‭ ‬Smith,‭ ‬Ricardo Ara�jo‭ & ‬Oct�vio Mateus‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Plesiosauria,‭ ‬Plesiosauridae.

Diet

Piscivore.

Species

L.‭ ‬sauvagei‭

Size

Uncertain due to lack of fossil material.

Known locations

Portugal‭ ‬-‭ ‬S�o Gi�o Formation.

Time Period

Toarcian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial skull with articulated mandible‭ (‬lower jaw‭)‬.

In Depth

       Lusonectes was named from a combination of Luso‭ (‬Portugese‭)‬,‭ ‬and nectes‭ (‬swimmer‭)‬,‭ ‬and at the time of its naming it was the only plesiosaur genus named from a Portugese deposit.‭ ‬However Europe during the Jurassic was more a collection of islands rather than the single large land mass it is today,‭ ‬so it may only be a matter of time before other Portugese plesiosaurs are discovered.‭ ‬The species name L.‭ ‬sauvagei is in honour of the French palaeontologist Henri �mile Sauvage who found the first remains way back in the nineteenth century.

       Lusonectes is thought to be most closely related to plesiosaurs like Microcleidus,‭ ‬and as such may represent a primitive form of elasmosaurid plesiosaur.‭ ‬These are the sub group proportionately longer necked plesiosaurs typified by Elasmosaurus.

Further Reading

Further reading- A new plesiosauroid from the Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) of Alhadas, Portugal. – Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 57(2):257-266 – A. S. Smith, R. Araujo & O. Mateus – 2012.

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