Pliosauridae

Pliosauridae; Temporal range: Late Triassic - Late Cretaceous, 228–89.3 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Liopleurodon ferox mounted skeleton, Museum of Paleontology, Tübingen
	Cast of the primitive pliosaur Attenborosaurus conybeari (NHMUK R1339), Natural History Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Suborder:	†Pliosauroidea
Family:	†Pliosauridae; Seeley, 1874
Subgroups
	†Anguanax; †Arminisaurus; †Attenborosaurus; †Hauffiosaurus; †Marmornectes; †Monquirasaurus; †Pachycostasaurus; †Rhaeticosaurus; †Thalassiodracon; †Thalassophonea; Benson & Druckenmiller, 2013 †Eardasaurus; †Gallardosaurus; †Ischyrodon; †Liopleurodon; †Megalneusaurus; †Peloneustes; †Pliosaurus; †Simolestes; †Brachaucheninae; Williston, 1925 †Acostasaurus; †Brachauchenius; †Kronosaurus; †Lorrainosaurus; †Luskhan; †Makhaira; †Megacephalosaurus; †Polyptychodon; †Sachicasaurus; †Stenorhynchosaurus; ; ;

Pliosauridae is a family of plesiosaurian marine reptiles from the Latest Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous (Rhaetian to Turonian stages). The family is more inclusive than the archetypal short-necked large headed species that are placed in the subclade Thalassophonea, with early, primitive forms resembling other plesiosaurs with long necks.

The largest thalassophonean pliosaurs reached 10–11 metres (33–36 ft), in length, with around a quarter of this length being the head. Thalassophonean pliosaurs represented the largest marine predators during their existence, spanning more than 80 million years.^[1]

Pliosaurs went extinct during the early Late Cretaceous and were subsequently replaced by the mosasaurs.

Taxonomy

Pliosauridae was formally named by Harry G. Seeley in 1874.^[2]

Pliosauridae is a stem-based taxon defined in 2010 (and in earlier studies in a similar manner) as "all taxa more closely related to Pliosaurus brachydeirus than to Leptocleidus superstes, Polycotylus latipinnis or Meyerasaurus victor".^[3] The family Brachauchenidae has been proposed to include pliosauroids which have very short necks and may include Brachauchenius and Kronosaurus.^[4] However, modern cladistic analyses found that this group is actually a subfamily of pliosaurids,^[5] and possibly even the "crown group" of Pliosauridae.^[6]

Within Pliosauridae, there is a more derived clade called Thalassophonea. Thalassophonea was erected by Roger Benson and Patrick Druckenmiller in 2013. The name is derived from Greek thalassa (θάλασσα), "sea", and phoneus (φονεύς), "murderer". It is a stem-based taxon defined as "all taxa more closely related to Pliosaurus brachydeirus than to Marmornectes candrewi".^[7] It includes the short necked and large headed taxa that typify the family.^[8]^[9]

The following cladogram follows an analysis by Benson & Druckenmiller (2014).^[7]

Pliosauridae

Thalassophonea

"Pliosaurus" andrewsi

Simolestes

Liopleurodon

"Liopleurodon" rossicus

	Pliosaurus

	Gallardosaurus

Brachaucheninae

	Brachauchenius

	Kronosaurus

	Megacephalosaurus

References

^ N. G. Zverkov, E. M. Pervushov (2020). "A gigantic pliosaurid from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Volga Region, Russia". Cretaceous Research. 110. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104419.
^ Ketchum, H.F.; Benson, R.B.J. (2010). "Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 85 (2): 361–392. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00107.x. PMID 20002391. S2CID 12193439.
^ Ketchum, H.F.; Benson, R.B.J. (2010). "Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 85 (2): 361–392. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00107.x. PMID 20002391. S2CID 12193439.
^ "Pliosauridae". The Plesiosaur Directory. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
^ Gasparini, Zulma (2009). "A New Oxfordian Pliosaurid (Plesiosauria, Pliosauridae) in the Caribbean Seaway" (PDF). Palaeontology. 52 (3): 661–669. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2009.00871.x. S2CID 55353949. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16.
^ Ketchum, H.F.; Benson, R.B.J. (2011). "The cranial anatomy and taxonomy of Peloneustes philarchus (Sauropterygia, Pliosauridae) from the Peterborough Member (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of the UK". Palaeontology. 54 (3): 639–665. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01050.x. S2CID 85851352.
^ ^a ^b Benson, R. B. J.; Druckenmiller, P. S. (2014) [first published online 2013]. "Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition". Biological Reviews. 89 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1111/brv.12038. PMID 23581455. S2CID 19710180.
^ N. G. Zverkov, E. M. Pervushov (2020). "A gigantic pliosaurid from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Volga Region, Russia". Cretaceous Research. 110. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104419.
^ Sachs, S.; Madzia, D.; Thuy, B.; Kear, B.P. (October 16, 2023). "The rise of macropredatory pliosaurids near the Early-Middle Jurassic transition". Scientific Reports. 13 (17558): 1–16. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-43015-y. PMC 10579310.

External links

Media related to Pliosauridae at Wikimedia Commons

[Zverkov20202-1] N. G. Zverkov, E. M. Pervushov (2020). "A gigantic pliosaurid from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Volga Region, Russia". Cretaceous Research. 110. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104419.

[Ketchum20102-2] Ketchum, H.F.; Benson, R.B.J. (2010). "Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 85 (2): 361–392. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00107.x. PMID 20002391. S2CID 12193439.

[Ketchum2010-3] Ketchum, H.F.; Benson, R.B.J. (2010). "Global interrelationships of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) and the pivotal role of taxon sampling in determining the outcome of phylogenetic analyses". Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 85 (2): 361–392. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00107.x. PMID 20002391. S2CID 12193439.

[4] "Pliosauridae". The Plesiosaur Directory. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved 2011-10-18.

[Zulma_Gasparini-5] Gasparini, Zulma (2009). "A New Oxfordian Pliosaurid (Plesiosauria, Pliosauridae) in the Caribbean Seaway" (PDF). Palaeontology. 52 (3): 661–669. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2009.00871.x. S2CID 55353949. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16.

[KB2011-6] Ketchum, H.F.; Benson, R.B.J. (2011). "The cranial anatomy and taxonomy of Peloneustes philarchus (Sauropterygia, Pliosauridae) from the Peterborough Member (Callovian, Middle Jurassic) of the UK". Palaeontology. 54 (3): 639–665. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01050.x. S2CID 85851352.

[plesiosaurturnover-7] Benson, R. B. J.; Druckenmiller, P. S. (2014) [first published online 2013]. "Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition". Biological Reviews. 89 (1): 1–23. doi:10.1111/brv.12038. PMID 23581455. S2CID 19710180.

[Zverkov2020-8] N. G. Zverkov, E. M. Pervushov (2020). "A gigantic pliosaurid from the Cenomanian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Volga Region, Russia". Cretaceous Research. 110. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2020.104419.

[Sachsetal-9] Sachs, S.; Madzia, D.; Thuy, B.; Kear, B.P. (October 16, 2023). "The rise of macropredatory pliosaurids near the Early-Middle Jurassic transition". Scientific Reports. 13 (17558): 1–16. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-43015-y. PMC 10579310.

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Pliosauridae Temporal range: Late Triassic - Late Cretaceous, 228–89.3 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N

Liopleurodon ferox mounted skeleton, Museum of Paleontology, Tübingen

Cast of the primitive pliosaur Attenborosaurus conybeari (NHMUK R1339), Natural History Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Suborder:	†Pliosauroidea
Family:	†Pliosauridae Seeley, 1874
Subgroups
†Anguanax †Arminisaurus †Attenborosaurus †Hauffiosaurus †Marmornectes †Monquirasaurus †Pachycostasaurus †Rhaeticosaurus †Thalassiodracon †Thalassophonea Benson & Druckenmiller, 2013 †Eardasaurus †Gallardosaurus †Ischyrodon †Liopleurodon †Megalneusaurus †Peloneustes †Pliosaurus †Simolestes †Brachaucheninae Williston, 1925 †Acostasaurus †Brachauchenius †Kronosaurus †Lorrainosaurus †Luskhan †Makhaira †Megacephalosaurus †Polyptychodon †Sachicasaurus †Stenorhynchosaurus