Cryptoclididae
| Cryptoclidids Temporal range: Middle Jurassic - Early Cretaceous, 165–130 Ma | |
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| Life restoration of Muraenosaurus leedsi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Clade: | †Cryptoclidia |
| Family: | †Cryptoclididae Williston, 1925 |
| Genera | |
Cryptoclididae is a family of medium-sized plesiosaurs that existed from the middle Jurassic to the early Cretaceous period. They had long necks, broad and short skulls and densely packed teeth. They fed on small soft-bodied preys such as small fish and crustaceans.
Classification
In 2010, two supposed late Cretaceous members of the group were reclassified as other kinds of plesiosauroids. Kaiwhekea was reclassified to Leptocleididae, and Aristonectes was transferred to Elasmosauridae.[2]
Cladogram based on Ketchum and Benson (2010):[2]
| Cryptoclididae |
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References
- ↑ Gasparini, Z., Bardet, N., and Iturralde-Vinent, M. (2002). "A new cryptoclidid plesiosaur from the Oxfordian (Late Jurassic) of Cuba" (PDF). Geobios 35 (2): 201–211. doi:10.1016/s0016-6995(02)00019-0.
- 1 2 Ketchum, H. F., and 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 85: 361–392. doi:10.1111/j.1469-185X.2009.00107.x. PMID 20002391.
External links
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