| Sinopliosaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | † Sauropterygia |
| Order: | † Plesiosauria |
| Family: | † Pliosauridae |
| Genus: | † Sinopliosaurus Young, 1944 |
| Type species | |
| †Sinopliosaurus weiyuanensis Young, 1944 | |
Sinopliosaurus (meaning "Chinese more lizard") is a dubious genus of pliosauroid plesiosaur. [1] It lived during the Aptian and Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous [2] (disputed Sinopliosaurus remains have been dated to the Toarcian age and were found in the Ziliujing Formation) [3] of the People's Republic of China - its exact age is unknown. The type species, Sinopliosaurus weiyuanensis, was named and described in 1944 by Yang Zhongjian. [3] One species, "S." fusuiensis, was later shown to be based on teeth from a spinosaurid theropod dinosaur which is now known as Siamosaurus . [1] S. weiyuanensis was considered as a freshwater plesiosaur. [4]
The holotype, IVPP V140, consists of three vertebrae and a tooth, discovered in a layer of the Lianmugin Formation (Tugulu Group). [3] [5]
