Purranisaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Purranisaurus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic aged Vaca Muerta of Argentina.[2] Rusconi originally regarded Purranisaurus potens (the type species) to be a plesiosaur;[1] however, Gasparini demonstrated that it was in fact a metriorhynchid crocodyliform, and that may be a junior synonym of Metriorhynchus.[3] It was about 3.3 m (11 ft) long.[4]
| Purranisaurus Temporal range: Tithonian | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Suborder: | †Thalattosuchia |
| Family: | †Metriorhynchidae |
| Subfamily: | †Geosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Purranisaurus Rusconi 1948[1] |
| Species | |
| |
Taxonomy and phylogeny
In the 2000s phylogenetic analysis has shown that Purranisaurus is a distinct metriorhynchid genus.[5][6] A subsequent study expanded the genus Purranisaurus to include Metriorhynchus casamiquelai and M. westermanni.[7] Following the re-description of the holotype of the type species, only that species is now referred to Purranisaurus. [2]
