Westphaliasaurus
| Westphaliasaurus Temporal range: Early Jurassic, Pliensbachian | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Family: | †Microcleididae |
| Genus: | †Westphaliasaurus Schwermann & Sander, 2011 |
| Species | |
Westphaliasaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaurid from Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian stage) deposits of Westfalia, northwestern Germany. It is known from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton missing the skull and about 38% of the upper neck vertebrae. It was found by Sönke Simonsen, an amateur paleontologist, in 2007 from the Höxter district near Bielefeld, in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was first named by Leonie Schwermann and Martin Sander in 2011 and the type species is Westphaliasaurus simonsensii. The generic name is derived from the latinized name for Westfalen, Westfalia and lizard, saurus. The specific name honors Sönke Simonsen. Estimates suggest that it was 4.5 metres (15 ft) in length.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ Leonie Schwermann and Martin Sander (2011). "Osteologie und Phylogenie von Westphaliasaurus simonsensii: Ein neuer Plesiosauride (Sauropterygia) aus dem Unteren Jura (Pliensbachium) von Sommersell (Kreis Höxter), Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland [=Osteology and Phylogeny of Westphaliasaurus simonsensii, a new plesiosaurid (Sauropterygia) from the Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian) of Sommersell (Höxter district), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]". Geologie und Paläontologie in Westfalen 79 (1): 56 pp. ISBN 978-3-940726-14-8.
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