Tricleidus

Tro-kly-dus.
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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

Tricleidus ‭(‬Three collarbone‭)‬.

Phonetic

Tro-kly-dus.

Named By

Andrews‭ ‬-‭ ‬1909.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Plesiosauria,‭ ‬Plesiosauroidea,‭ ‬Cryptoclididae.

Diet

Piscivore.

Species

T.‭ ‬seeleyi‭

Size

Unavailable.

Known locations

England and Svalbard.

Time Period

Mid Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Skull and partial post cranial remains.

In Depth

       Tricleidus is but one of many cryptoclidid plesiosaurs active in European waters during the Jurassic,‭ ‬although it is not as well-known as the type genus of this‭ ‬group,‭ ‬Cryptoclidus.‭ ‬The type species name T.‭ ‬seeleyi is in honour of the British palaeontologist Harry Govier Seeley.‭ ‬Another species based upon American fossils once attributed to the genus as Tricleidus laramiensis‭ ‬(renamed from Cimoliasaurus laramiensis‭) ‬is now known as the genus Tatenectes.

Further Reading

– On some new Plesiosauria from the Oxford Clay of Peterborough. – Annals And Magazine of Natural History 4:418-429. – C. W. Andrews – 1909.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT