Plesioplatecarpus
Encyclopedia
Plesioplatecarpus is an extinct genus
of plioplatecarpine
mosasaur
. The name was erected in 2011 to incorporate Platecarpus planifrons, which was found to be distinct from Platecarpus
in a phylogenetic analysis.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of plioplatecarpine
Plioplatecarpinae
Plioplatecarpinae is a subfamily of mosasaurs, a diverse group of late Cretaceous marine squamates.Russell defined the Plioplatecarpinae as follows: Small rostrum present or absent anterior to premaxillary teeth. Cranial nerves X, XI, XII leave lateral wall of opisthotic through single foramen...
mosasaur
Mosasaur
Mosasaurs are large extinct marine lizards. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764...
. The name was erected in 2011 to incorporate Platecarpus planifrons, which was found to be distinct from Platecarpus
Platecarpus
Platecarpus is an extinct genus of aquatic lizard belonging to the mosasaur family, living around 75 million years ago during the end of the Cretaceous period. Fossils have been found in Belgium and the United States as well as a possible specimen in Africa. Platecarpus probably fed on fish,...
in a phylogenetic analysis.