| Piratosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype tooth USNM V 1000 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | † Sauropterygia |
| Order: | † Plesiosauria |
| Genus: | † Piratosaurus Leidy, 1865 |
| Type species | |
| †Piratosaurus plicatus Leidy, 1865 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Piratosaurus (meaning "pirate lizard") is a dubious genus of plesiosaur [1] possibly belonging to the Polycotylidae [2] that is known exclusively from the type species P. plicatus, named and described by Joseph Leidy in 1865. [3] It is known only from the holotype, USNM V 1000, a tooth, discovered in Late Cretaceous-aged rocks in the Red River basin of Manitoba; at least one researcher erroneously assumed it was found in Minnesota. [1]
