M. coccai (Gasparini, 1997) type material: MOZ 4386 V articulated skull and mandible, atlas-axis and first cervical vertebrae. From the upper part of the Los Molles Formation, Cuyo Group, Emileia giebeli and Emileia multiformis subzone.
Rhomaleosaurus is the largest known Lower Jurassic pliosaur and was the top predator in early Jurassic marine ecosystems. It has a reinforced skull to help resist torsion and a ferocious set of teeth, a combination of characters perfect for snatching and killing cephalopods, fish, and other marine reptiles. Historically, the genus Rhomaleosaurus has been interchangeable …
M. victor was originally described and figured by Fraas (1910). Historically, M. victor has been regarded as a species of Rhomaleosaurus and is often associated in the literature under the defunct name ‘Thaumatosaurus’. Smith and Vincent (2010) identified M. victor as generically distinct from Rhomaleosaurus and erected the new name Meyerasaurus for it (Smith and Dyke, 2008). The …
The genus Atychodracon was erected by Smith (2015) to accommodate ‘Rhomaleosaurus’ megacephalus, because it is generically separarate from Rhomaleosaurus sensu stricto (Smith and Dyke, 2008). A. megacephalus is closely related to Eurycleidus and some authors have regarded A. megacephalus a distinct species of Eurycleidus. The holotype specimen of A. megacephalus was housed in the Bristol …
The genus Archaeonectrus was proposed by Novozhilov (1964) for ‘Plesiosaurus’ rostratus, a species named by Owen (1865). By modern standards, Owen’s (1865) original description is rather inadequate. One notable characteristic of Archaeonectrus rostratus is the relatively small size of the limbs relative to its body. It has been classified as a pliosauroid, sometimes within the …