Attenborosaurus

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Attenborosaurus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 196.5–189.6  Ma
Hul - Attenborosaurus conybeari - 2.jpg
Casts of the holotype specimen (NHMUK PV R1339): one showing the left side view of the thorax (top) and another showing the underside of the body and right side view of the neck and skull (bottom), Natural History Museum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Sauropterygia
Order: Plesiosauria
Family: Pliosauridae
Genus: Attenborosaurus
Bakker, 1993
Species:
A. conybeari
Binomial name
Attenborosaurus conybeari
Bakker, 1993
Synonyms

Attenborosaurus is an extinct genus of pliosaurid from the Early Jurassic of Dorset, England. The type species is A. conybeari. The genus is named after David Attenborough, [1] the species after William Conybeare. [2]

Contents

History

Casts of the referred specimen NHMUK PV OR 40140 which was previously considered a type for Plesiosaurus laticeps, Natural History Museum Attenborosaurus conybearei 1.JPG
Casts of the referred specimen NHMUK PV OR 40140 which was previously considered a type for Plesiosaurus laticeps, Natural History Museum

The original remains of the holotype, specimen, were discovered in Charmouth, Dorset, England in 1880 [3] and was described in 1881. [2] This original specimen was housed at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery [2] where it stayed until it was destroyed in November 1940, during World War II. [1] Thankfully, before the war, a cast had been made by William Johnson Sollas, c.1888 and sent to the Natural History Museum in London. This specimen (specimen NHMUK PV R1339) is still housed at the Natural History Museum, London along with two referred specimens: specimen NHMUK OR 39514 which includes part of the skull; and specimen NHMUK OR 40140 which includes a skull and postcrania and was purchased by E.C. Day in 1866, also from Dorset. [3] Specimens NHMUK PV R1339 and NHMUK OR 40140 are both on public display in Fossil Way at the museum (although NHMUK OR 40140 is mislabeled as "40140/R1360").

At first the animal was thought to be another Plesiosaurus species by William Johnson Sollas in 1881, [2] but after studies on the plaster casts made after the remains, Plesiosaurus conybeari was assigned to a new genus (Attenborosaurus) by Robert T. Bakker in 1993. [1]

Description

Life restoration with Asteroceras obtusum Attenborosaurus conybeari life restoration.jpg
Life restoration with Asteroceras obtusum

Judging by the holotype, which is the partial remains of one single specimen, the length of the animal was about 4.3 m (14 ft). [2] [4] Much like its plesiosaur cousins, it was piscivorous. From the skin impression found with the bones, which was later destroyed, it is presumed that the creature had membranous skin, devoid of any significantly large scales, probably for decreasing water resistances. [1]

Classification

The following cladogram follows an analysis by Benson & Druckenmiller (2014). [5]

  Plesiosauria  

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Plesiosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Plesiosaurus is a genus of extinct, large marine sauropterygian reptile that lived during the Early Jurassic. It is known by nearly complete skeletons from the Lias of England. It is distinguishable by its small head, long and slender neck, broad turtle-like body, a short tail, and two pairs of large, elongated paddles. It lends its name to the order Plesiosauria, of which it is an early, but fairly typical member. It contains only one species, the type, Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus. Other species once assigned to this genus, including P. brachypterygius, P. guilielmiimperatoris, and P. tournemirensis have been reassigned to new genera, such as Hydrorion, Seeleyosaurus and Occitanosaurus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pliosauroidea</span> Extinct clade of reptiles

Pliosauroidea is an extinct clade of plesiosaurs, known from the earliest Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous. They are best known for the subclade Thalassophonea, which contained crocodile-like short-necked forms with large heads and massive toothed jaws, commonly known as pliosaurs. More primitive non-thalassophonean pliosauroids resembled plesiosaurs in possessing relatively long necks and smaller heads. They originally included only members of the family Pliosauridae, of the order Plesiosauria, but several other genera and families are now also included, the number and details of which vary according to the classification used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plesiosaur</span> Order of reptiles (fossil)

The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia.

Peloneustes is a genus of pliosaurid plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England. Its remains are known from the Peterborough Member of the Oxford Clay Formation, which is Callovian in age. It was originally described as a species of Plesiosaurus by palaeontologist Harry Govier Seeley in 1869, before being given its own genus by naturalist Richard Lydekker in 1889. While many species have been assigned to Peloneustes, P. philarchus is currently the only one still considered valid, with the others moved to different genera, considered nomina dubia, or synonymised with P. philarchus. Some of the material formerly assigned to P. evansi have since been reassigned to "Pliosaurus" andrewsi. Peloneustes is known from many specimens, including some very complete material.

<i>Pliosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Pliosaurus is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Late Jurassic of Europe and South America. Most European species of Pliosaurus measured around 8 metres (26 ft) long and weighed about 5 metric tons, but P. rossicus and P. funkei would have been one of the largest plesiosaurs of all time, exceeding 10 metres (33 ft) in length. This genus has contained many species in the past but recent reviews found only six to be valid, while the validity of two additional species awaits a petition to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Currently, P. brachyspondylus and P. macromerus are considered dubious, while P. portentificus is considered undiagnostic. Species of this genus are differentiated from other pliosaurids based on seven autapomorphies, including teeth that are triangular in cross section. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and marine reptiles.

<i>Thalassiodracon</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Thalassiodracon (tha-LAS-ee-o-DRAY-kon) is an extinct genus of plesiosauroid from the Pliosauridae that was alive during the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic (Rhaetian-Hettangian) and is known exclusively from the Lower Lias of England. The type and only species, is Thalassiodracon (Plesiosaurus) hawkinsii.

<i>Plesiosuchus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Nichollssaura</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Colymbosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Eretmosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Eretmosaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic Blue Lias of England. Only the type species is known, which is E. rugosus.

<i>Seeleyosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Seeleyosaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur that was initially placed within the genus Plesiosaurus in 1895 and was given its own genus in 1940. Two species were known: the type, S. guilelmiimperatoris, and the now obsolete species S. holzmadensis, which has since been absorbed into S. guilelmiimperatoris. It was a relatively small plesiosaur, measuring 2.9–3.6 m (9.5–11.8 ft) long. The holotype is MB.R.1992, a large almost complete skeleton from the Upper Lias (Toarcian) Lias Group Formations of Württemberg, Germany. There seems to be the impression of a rhomboidal flap of skin in a vertical plane; if so, many plesiosaurs may have been equipped in this way. A second specimen, preserved in 3D, is the holotype of S. holzmadensis.

<i>Meyerasaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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Abyssosaurus is an extinct genus of cryptoclidid plesiosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Chuvash Republic, western Russia. It possessed a shortened skull, and it has been suggested that it primarily inhabited the bathyal zone.

<i>Avalonnectes</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Stratesaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Eoplesiosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Anningasaura</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of plesiosaur research</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charmouth Mudstone Formation</span> Geological formation in England

The Charmouth Mudstone Formation is a geological formation in England, dating to the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian–Pliensbachian). It forms part of the lower Lias Group. It is most prominently exposed at its type locality in cliff section between Lyme Regis and Charmouth but onshore it extends northwards to Market Weighton, Yorkshire, and in the subsurface of the East Midlands Shelf and Wessex Basin. The formation is notable for its fossils, including those of ammonites and marine reptiles and rare dinosaur remains. The formation played a prominent role in the history of early paleontology, with its Lyme Regis-Charmouth exposure being frequented by fossil collectors including Mary Anning.

<i>Atychodracon</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Bakker, R. T. (1993). Plesiosaur extinction cycles - events that mark the beginning, middle and end of the Cretaceous. Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper 39:641–664
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Sollas, W.J. (1881). "On a new species of Plesiosaurus (P. Conybeari) from the Lower Lias of Charmouth; with observations on P. megacephalus, Stutchbury, and P. brachycephalus, Owen" (PDF). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London. 37: 440–480.
  3. 1 2 "Attenborosaurus: a celebrity reptile". nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  4. Ketchum, H. F.; Smith, A. S. (2010). "The anatomy and taxonomy of Macroplata tenuiceps (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Hettangian (Lower Jurassic) of Warwickshire, United Kingdom" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (4): 1069–1081. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.483604. S2CID   85081282.
  5. Benson, R. B. J.; Druckenmiller, P. S. (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.