Seeleyosaurus

Seeleyosaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur that was initially placed within the genus Plesiosaurus in 1895[1] and was given its own genus in 1940.[2] Two species were known: the type, S. guilelmiimperatoris, and the now obsolete species S. holzmadensis,[2] which has since been absorbed into S. guilelmiimperatoris. The holotype was MB.R.1992, a large almost complete skeleton from the Upper Lias (Toarcian) Lias Group Formations of Württemberg, Germany. There seems to be the impression of a rhomboidal flap of skin in a vertical plane; if so, many plesiosaurs may have been equipped in this way.[3] The holotype was destroyed in 1945 (WWII) and only a cast exists today. A second specimen (SMNS 12039), preserved in 3D, has survived until today. It was once the holotype of the now obsolete species S. holzmadensis.[2]

Seeleyosaurus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic,
Cast of Seeleyosaurus guilelmiimperatoris fossil with reconstructed parts based on the holotype
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: †Sauropterygia
Order: †Plesiosauria
Family: †Microcleididae
Genus: †Seeleyosaurus
White, 1940
Type species
†Seeleyosaurus guilelmiimperatoris
(Dames, 1895)
Synonyms
  • Plesiosaurus guilelmiimperatoris Dames, 1895
  • Seeleyosaurus holzmadensis White, 1940

Classification

The following cladogram follows an analysis by Ketchum & Benson, 2011.[3]

  • Restoration
  • Holotype of S. guilelmiimperatoris in 1895[1]
  • Seeleyosaurus (left) and Thaumatosaurus, now Meyerasaurus (right) as depicted in Water reptiles of the past and present (1914)

See also

References
  1. Dames, H. W. (1895). Die Plesiosaurier der süddeutschen Liasformation. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 2:1-83
  2. White, T. E. (1940). Holotype of Plesiosaurus longirostris Blake and classification of the plesiosaurs. Journal of Paleontology 14(5):451-467
  3. Ketchum, Hillary F.; Benson, Roger B.J. (2011). "A new pliosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of England: evidence for a gracile, longirostrine grade of Early-Middle Jurassic pliosaurids". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 86: 109–129.


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