Archaeonectrus is an extinct genus of pliosaur from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) of what is now southeastern England. The type species is Archaeonectrus (originally "Plesiosaurus") rostratus, first named by Sir Richard Owen in 1865, which was moved to its own genus by N.I. Novozhilov in 1964. It was a relatively small plesiosaur, measuring 3.4–3.67 m (11.2–12.0 ft) long.[1][2]

Archaeonectrus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic,
Sinemurian
Holotype specimen NHMUK PV OR 38525
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Sauropterygia
Order: Plesiosauria
Family: Rhomaleosauridae
Genus: Archaeonectrus
Novozhilov, 1964
Type species
Archaeonectrus rostratus
Owen, 1865
Additional specimen

Classification

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Illustration of the holotype specimen, NHMUK PV OR 38525 (formerly BMNH 38525), dated to c. 1870
 
Life restoration

The cladogram below shows Archaeonectrus phylogenetic position among other plesiosaurs, following Benson et al. (2012).[3]

Plesiosauria

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Ketchum, H. F.; Smith, A. S. (2010). "The anatomy and taxonomy of Macroplata tenuiceps (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Hettangian (Lower Jurassic) of Warwickshire, United Kingdom" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (4): 1069–1081. doi:10.1080/02724634.2010.483604. S2CID 85081282.
  2. ^ Valentin Fischer; Nikolay G. Zverkov; Maxim S. Arkhangelsky; Ilya M. Stenshin; Ivan V. Blagovetshensky; Gleb N. Uspensky (2020). "A new elasmosaurid plesiosaurian from the Early Cretaceous of Russia marks an early attempt at neck elongation". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (4): 1167–1194. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa103. hdl:2268/251614.Supplementary Information
  3. ^ Roger B. J. Benson; Mark Evans & Patrick S. Druckenmiller (2012). "High Diversity, Low Disparity and Small Body Size in Plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary". PLOS ONE. 7 (3): e31838. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...731838B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0031838. PMC 3306369. PMID 22438869.
  • Sepkoski, J.J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology 363: 1-560.
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