Abyssosaurus

Post author:Adam S. Smith
Post published:18/10/2020
Post category:Genus page

Abyssosaurus is a derived cryptoclidid plesiosaur from the Upper Hauterivian (Lower Cretaceous) of the Menya River, Chuvashia, Russia. It was named and described in 2011 by Alexander Yu Berezin (Berezin 2011). A partial skull associated with the holotype specimen (MChEIO, no. PM/1) was not described in the original 2011 paper but was…

Leptocleidus

Post author:Adam S. Smith
Post published:22/07/2018
Post category:Genus page Leptocleididae Plesiosauria Plesiosauroidea

Skull of Leptocleidus capensis in lateral view (from Cruickshank, 1997)

Lower Cretaceous plesiosaurs are rare, so Leptocleidus is important because it fills a gap in the fossil record of plesiosaurians. Leptocleidus was once considered to be a late surviving member of the family Rhomaleosauridae but it has recently been reidentified as a close relative of polycotylids. The fossils of all known species…