References
Reference
Cruickshank, Arthur R I (1994) A juvenile plesiosaur (Plesiosauria: Reptilia) from the Lower Lias (Hettangian: Lower Jurassic) of Lyme Regis, England: a Pliosauroid-plesiosauroid intermediate?; Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 112, pp.151-178
A juvenile plesiosaur (Plesiosauria: Reptilia) from the Lower Lias (Hettangian: Lower Jurassic) of Lyme Regis, England: a Pliosauroid-plesiosauroid intermediate?
Principal Author
Arthur R I Cruickshank
Header
Academic paper
Journal
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
Publisher
The Linnaean Society of London
Volume
112
Pages
151-178
Abstract
A partial skull and skeleton of a small, juvenile plesiosaur, part of the historically important Philpot Collection from Lyme Regis, England, is described. It is assigned tentatively to Eurycleidus arcuatus (Owen, 1840) and has a mosaic of features which make it difficult to place in a superfamily. The characters of the posterior elements of the skull and post-dentary bones are close to those expected in a plesiosauroid, whereas the anterior dentition and symphysis of the lower jaw are more typical of a pliosauroid. The specimen is placed in the Pliosauroidea pending a phylogenetic revision of the Lower Jurassic Plesiosauria. From a reconstruction of the dentition and jaw-closing muscles, it is thought to have been a predator on soft-bodied or lightly armoured prey, such as belemnoids, ammonites or small fish.
Keywords
Hettangian phylogeny functional anatomy Eurycleidus
Language
English