Cryptoclidids | |
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Skeleton of Cryptoclidus eurymerus at the Museum of Paleontology, Tuebingen | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Superorder: | † Sauropterygia |
Order: | † Plesiosauria |
Clade: | † Cryptoclidia |
Family: | † Cryptoclididae Williston, 1925 |
Genera | |
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Cryptoclididae is a family of medium-sized plesiosaurs that existed from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. 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. The earliest members of the family appeared during the early Bajocian, and they represented the dominant group of long-necked plesiosaurs during the latter half of the Jurassic. [3]
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. [4]
Cladogram based on Ketchum and Benson (2010): [4]
Cryptoclididae | |