Eoplesiosaurus antiquior

Holotype of Eoplesiosaurus antiquior.

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Plesiosauroidea

Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Unikonta Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Megaclassis: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Superclassis: Tetrapoda Cladus: Reptiliomorpha Cladus: Amniota Classis: Reptilia Cladus: Eureptilia Cladus: Romeriida Subclassis: Diapsida Cladus: Sauria Cladus: Archelosauria Superordo: †Sauropterygia Ordo: †Plesiosauria Subordo: †Plesiosauroidea

Genus: †Eoplesiosaurus
Species: Eoplesiosaurus antiquior

Name

• †Eoplesiosaurus antiquior Benson, Evans & Druckenmiller, 2012: fig. 3

Holotype: TTNCM 8348, a postcranial skeleton.

Type locality: Watchet, Somerset UK (likely lowermost Hettangian).

Etymology: The species epithet is Latin meaning ‘more ancient’, in reference to the old geologic age of the specimen and Duria antiquior (‘a more ancient Dorset’; 1830), a watercolour depiction of Lower Jurassic fauna, including plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs, by Henry De la Beche.

References

• Benson, Roger B. J., Mark Evans & Patrick S. Druckenmiller, 2012: High diversity, low disparity and small body size in plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary. PLoS One, 7(3): e31838. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031838.