Yuzhoupliosaurus
Genus of rhomaleosaurid plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic period
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yuzhoupliosaurus is an extinct genus of rhomaleosaurid plesiosaur found in rocks of the Middle Jurassic in China. The genus is known only from a lower jaw, eighteen vertebrae, fragments of a pectoral girdle and parts of the right hindlimb. It is believed this genus lived in fresh water.
| Yuzhoupliosaurus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Family: | †Rhomaleosauridae |
| Genus: | †Yuzhoupliosaurus Zhang, 1985 |
| Type species | |
| †Yuzhoupliosaurus chengjiangensis Zhang, 1985 | |
Etymology
The genus was named after Yuzhou (渝州), the previous name of Chongqing, a major city on the Yangtze River where the first fossil of Yuzhoupliosaurus was found.
Description
Paleontologists believe Yuzhoupliosaurus to have been approximatively four meters long. The lower jaws contain five pairs of large teeth and 23 or 24 smaller teeth. The cervical vertebrae are considered "high and short". The anterior cervical ribs are double-headed while the posterior cervical ribs are single-headed. The coracoids are elongated and the clavicles are well-developed.
See also
Sources
- Zhang, Y (1985). "A new plesiosaur from Middle Jurassic of Sichuan Basin". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 23: 235–240.
