Plesiopleurodon

Ples-e-o-plur-o-don.
By Lilah Turner
Published on

Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Turner, L. (2014, January 15). Plesiopleurodon. Prehistoric-wildlife. https://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/plesiopleurodon/

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Name

Plesiopleurodon ‭(‬near Liopleurodon‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ples-e-o-plur-o-don.

Named By

K.‭ ‬Carpenter‭ ‬-‭ ‬1996.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Plesiosauria,‭ ‬Plesiosauroidea,‭ ‬Polycotylidae.

Diet

Carnivore/Piscivore.

Species

P.‭ ‬wellesi‭

Size

Skull 71 centimetres long.

Known locations

USA,‭ ‬Wyoming‭ ‬-‭ ‬Hailey Shales Formation‭ (‬Belle Fourche Member‭)‬.

Time Period

Early Cenomanian‭ ‬of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Skull and lower jaws,‭ ‬as well as cervical‭ (‬neck‭) ‬vertebrae and a coracoid‭ (‬part of the shoulder‭)‬.

In Depth

       Plesiopleurodon is a genus of polycotylid plesiosaur that is known to have lived in the Western Interior seaway of North America during the early part of the Late Cretaceous.‭ ‬As with others of its kind,‭ ‬Plesiopleurodon would have had a proportionately shorter neck and longer jaws than other plesiosaurs.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A review of short-necked plesiosaurs of the Western Interior,‭ ‬North America.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie,‭ ‬Abhandlungen‭ ‬201‭(‬2‭)‬:259-287.‭ ‬-‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Carpenter‭ ‬-‭ ‬1996.

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