Elasmosauridae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Elasmosaurids Temporal range: Late Triassic - Late Cretaceous, 210–65 Ma |
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| Artist's restoration of Elasmosaurus platyurus | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Superfamily: | †Plesiosauroidea |
| Family: | †Elasmosauridae Cope, 1869 |
| Genera | |
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See text |
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| Synonyms | |
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Cimoliasauridae Persson, 1960 |
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Elasmosauridae was the family of plesiosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and survived from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous. They had a diet of fish and shelless cephalopods.
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[edit] Size
The earliest elasmosaurids were small, about 3 m (9.8 ft). At the end of the Cretaceous, elasmosaurids grew as large as 14 m (46 ft), such as Elasmosaurus. Their necks were the longest of all the plesiosaurs, with anywhere between 32 to 71 cervical vertebrae They weighed up to several tons.
[edit] Taxonomy
The family Elasmosauridae was erected by Cope in 1869, and anchored on the genus Elasmosaurus.
- Family Elasmosauridae
- Dubious Elasmosaurids
[edit] References
- ^ A. G. Sennikov, M. S. Arkhangelsky (2010). "On a Typical Jurassic Sauropterygian from the Upper Triassic of Wilczek Land (Franz Josef Land, Arctic Russia)". Paleontological Journal 44 (5): 567–572. doi:10.1134/S0031030110050126.
- ^ Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Anthony P. Russell (2006). "A new elasmosaurid plesiosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Lower Cretaceous Clearwater Formation, northeastern Alberta, Canada". Paludicola (Special Issue, in memory of Elizabeth "Betsy" Nicholls) 5 (4): 184–199. http://www.bio.ucalgary.ca/contact/faculty/pdf/russell/297.pdf.
- ^ Peggy Vincent, Nathalie Bardet, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola, Baâdi Bouya, Mbarek Amaghzaz and Saïd Meslouh (2011). "Zarafasaura oceanis, a new elasmosaurid (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Maastrichtian Phosphates of Morocco and the palaeobiogeography of latest Cretaceous plesiosaurs". Gondwana Research 19 (4): 1062–1073. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2010.10.005. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1342937X10001851.
- ^ F. Robin O'Keefe and Hallie P. Street (2009). "Osteology Of The Cryptoclidoid Plesiosaur Tatenectes laramiensis, With Comments On The Taxonomic Status Of The Cimoliasauridae". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (1): 48–57. http://www.science.marshall.edu/okeefef/PDFS/OKeefeStreet2009.pdf.
- ^ Benjamin P. Kear (2005). "A new elasmosaurid plesiosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25 (4): 792–805. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0792:ANEPFT]2.0.CO;2. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1671/0272-4634%282005%29025%5B0792%3AANEPFT%5D2.0.CO%3B2.
[edit] External links
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Wikispecies has information related to: Elasmosauridae |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Elasmosauridae |
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