In Depth Arminisaurus is a genus of pliosaurid plesiosaur that lived in Waters submerging what is now Germany during the early Jurassic. Arminisaurus is named after Arminius, a Germanic tribal chieftain who commanded the Germanic tribal alliance forces at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in which The Roman Empire suffered a major defeat. Further … Read more
Microcleidus: Research Database Theropoda · Cretaceous · Unknown Research Note: Microcleidus was a theropoda from the Cretaceous of Unknown, providing important data on prehistoric life and ecosystem dynamics. Research Finding Status Grade Year Method Citation Impact Brown Vincent Bardet 2013: Microcleidus and related taxa Journal of Paleontology Confirmed B 2013 Fossil Brown Vincent … Read more
In Depth Jucha is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur that lived in Russian waters during the early Cretaceous. Jucha is noted for being very primitive in form for an elasmosaurid plesiosaur, though it is uncertain if Jucha was an early development, or perhaps a later surviving example of aprimitive elasmosaurid plesisoaur. Further reading - A … Read more
Attenborosaurus: Research Database Attenborosauridae (Sauropterygia) · Early Jurassic (~195-190 MYA) · Europe — England (Watchet, Somerset) Research Note: Attenborosaurus was a sauropterygian from the Early Jurassic of England — a basal sauropterygian with uncertain affinities and an important taxon for understanding early sauropterygian evolution. Research Finding Status Grade Year Method Citation Impact Vincent … Read more
In Depth Described in 2012, the original describers of Qianxisaurus described the holotype as a basal eosauropterygian. Further Reading – A new eosauropterygian (Diapsida, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic of China”. – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32 (6): 1335 – Y. N. Cheng, X. C. Wu, T. Sato, H. Y. Shan – 2012.
In Depth Descriptions of the fossils of Anguanax first came to press in 2014, though the genus was not officially named until 2015 when further fossil remains could be described for it. With the first fossils coming from Northern Italy, Anguanax is recognised as being the he first pliosaur genus to be known from articulated … Read more
In Depth Originally described as a species of Plesiosaurus by Richard Owen in 1865, it was identified as a distinct genus just under a hundred years later in 1964. Archaeonectrus is now regarded as a rhomaleosaurid pliosaur, and would have been a predator of other marine organisms. Further Reading – A monograph of the fossil … Read more
In Depth Lusonectes was named from a combination of Luso (Portugese), and nectes (swimmer), and at the time of its naming it was the only plesiosaur genus named from a Portugese deposit. However Europe during the Jurassic was more a collection of islands rather than the single large land mass it is today, so it … Read more
Plesiosaurus: Research Database Plesiosauridae · Early Jurassic (~200-175 MYA) · Europe — England, Germany Research Note: Plesiosaurus was the first plesiosaur ever discovered and gave its name to the entire plesiosaur group. Found in the Early Jurassic of England, its unique body plan — a broad flat body, four large flippers, and a long neck … Read more
In Depth Charitosaurus is a little known genus of plesiosaur that is only represented by partial remains. The level of preservation of these remains is so low that Charitosaurus is actually regarded as a Nomen dubium by many. Further Reading - System der fossilen Saurier [Taxonomy of fossil saurians] - Neues Jahrbuch f�r Mineralogie, Geognosie, … Read more