Sinopliosaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles
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Sinopliosaurus (meaning "Chinese more lizard") is a dubious genus of pliosauroid plesiosaur.[1] It lived during the Aptian and Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous[2] (disputed Sinopliosaurus remains have been dated to the Toarcian age and were found in the Ziliujing Formation)[3] of the People's Republic of China - its exact age is unknown. The type species, Sinopliosaurus weiyuanensis, was named and described in 1944 by Yang Zhongjian.[3] One species, "S." fusuiensis, was later shown to be based on teeth from a spinosaurid theropod dinosaur which is now known as Siamosaurus.[1] S. weiyuanensis was considered as a freshwater plesiosaur.[4]
| Sinopliosaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pliosauroidea |
| Family: | †Pliosauridae |
| Genus: | †Sinopliosaurus Young, 1944 |
| Type species | |
| †Sinopliosaurus weiyuanensis Young, 1944 | |
The holotype, IVPP V140, consists of three vertebrae and a tooth, discovered in a layer of the Lianmugin Formation (Tugulu Group).[3][5]