Presence of Mauisaurus in the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Central Chile

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Presence of Mauisaurus in the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Central Chile Presence of Mauisaurus in the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of central Chile Rodrigo A. Otero, Sergio Soto-Acuña, and David Rubilar-Rogers Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 55 (2), 2010: 361-364 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4202/app.2009.0065 The revision by Hiller et al. (2005) of the species Mauisaurus haasti Hector (Plesiosauroidea, Elasmosauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of New Zealand, has provided reliable postcranial characters that permit recognition of this taxon as distinct among Late Cretaceous elasmosaurid plesiosaurs from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Particularly, in adult specimens, the femur displays a large, hemispherical capitulum that seems to be autapomorphic. This unique morphology is present in at least two specimens recovered from Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) beds in central Chile, which these fossils may be referred to the same taxon with confidence. The Chilean fossils are considerably larger than those from New Zealand, suggesting either difference in ontogenetic age or interspecific variation. The studied material constitutes the second accurate generic identification of elasmosaurid plesiosaurs from the eastern margin of the Pacific Ocean, thus complementing the known south−gondwanic paleodistribution of Mauisaurus during the Late Cretaceous. Rodrigo A. Otero [[email protected]], Museo Paleontológico de Caldera. Av. Wheelwright 001, Caldera, Chile; Sergio Soto-Acuña [[email protected] ], Laboratorio de Zoología de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile; David Rubilar-Rogers [[email protected]], Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Interior Quinta Normal s/n, Santiago, Chile. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (for details please see creativecommons.org), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Full text (195.9 kB) Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org).
Recommended publications
  • First Occurrence of a Gigantic Pliosaurid Plesiosaur in The
    Bull. Soc. géol. Fr., 2003, t. 174, no 3, pp. 271-278 First occurrence of a gigantic pliosaurid plesiosaur in the late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Mexico MARIE-CÉLINE BUCHY1,EBERHARD FREY2,WOLFGANG STINNESBECK1 &JOSÉ GUADALUPE LÓPEZ-OLIVA3 Key words. – Kimmeridgian, Pliosauridae, Mexico, Palaeobiogeography. Abstract. – Reinvestigation of a partial vertebral column from the Kimmeridgian La Caja Formation of Mexico, housed in the University of Linares (Mexico), and previously attributed to a dinosaur, proves to be from a very large pliosaurid plesiosaur. This specimen represents the first plesiosaur described from the Jurassic of Mexico. Its length has been esti- mated at 15 metres and, as a juvenile, is considered to be one of the largest Jurassic marine reptiles. The remains of this animal are here described. The morphology of the vertebral column is not diagnostic beyond family level. Large pliosaur vertebrae of a similar size are known from the Upper Jurassic of Europe, and are often referred to the genera Liopleurodon or Simolestes but these identifications are based only upon the size of the centra and have no taxonomic justification. A portion of rostrum with teeth was discovered together with the vertebral column but is unfortunately now lost. The Mexican pliosaur fills geographical and chronological gaps between western Tethys and South American pliosaurs, and is an additional support to the hypothesis of a Hispanic corridor linking at least temporarily the NW Euro- pean marine province with the western South American marine (Pacific) realm during the late Jurassic. Première occurrence d’un plésiosaure pliosauride géant dans le Jurassique supérieur (Kimméridgien) du Mexique Mots clés.
    [Show full text]
  • Estimating the Evolutionary Rates in Mosasauroids and Plesiosaurs: Discussion of Niche Occupation in Late Cretaceous Seas
    Estimating the evolutionary rates in mosasauroids and plesiosaurs: discussion of niche occupation in Late Cretaceous seas Daniel Madzia1 and Andrea Cau2 1 Department of Evolutionary Paleobiology, Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland 2 Independent, Parma, Italy ABSTRACT Observations of temporal overlap of niche occupation among Late Cretaceous marine amniotes suggest that the rise and diversification of mosasauroid squamates might have been influenced by competition with or disappearance of some plesiosaur taxa. We discuss that hypothesis through comparisons of the rates of morphological evolution of mosasauroids throughout their evolutionary history with those inferred for contemporary plesiosaur clades. We used expanded versions of two species- level phylogenetic datasets of both these groups, updated them with stratigraphic information, and analyzed using the Bayesian inference to estimate the rates of divergence for each clade. The oscillations in evolutionary rates of the mosasauroid and plesiosaur lineages that overlapped in time and space were then used as a baseline for discussion and comparisons of traits that can affect the shape of the niche structures of aquatic amniotes, such as tooth morphologies, body size, swimming abilities, metabolism, and reproduction. Only two groups of plesiosaurs are considered to be possible niche competitors of mosasauroids: the brachauchenine pliosaurids and the polycotylid leptocleidians. However, direct evidence for interactions between mosasauroids and plesiosaurs is scarce and limited only to large mosasauroids as the Submitted 31 July 2019 predators/scavengers and polycotylids as their prey. The first mosasauroids differed Accepted 18 March 2020 from contemporary plesiosaurs in certain aspects of all discussed traits and no evidence Published 13 April 2020 suggests that early representatives of Mosasauroidea diversified after competitions with Corresponding author plesiosaurs.
    [Show full text]
  • An Mauisaurus Gardneri On
    Downloaded from http://jgslegacy.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Sydney on August 31, 2014 Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society On Mauisaurus Gardneri (Seeley), an Elasmosaurian from the Base of the Gault at Folkestone Harry Govier Seeley Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 1877, v.33; p541-547. doi: 10.1144/GSL.JGS.1877.033.01-04.32 Email alerting click here to receive free service e-mail alerts when new articles cite this article Permission click here to seek permission request to re-use all or part of this article Subscribe click here to subscribe to Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society or the Lyell Collection Notes © The Geological Society of London 2014 Downloaded from http://jgslegacy.lyellcollection.org/ at University of Sydney on August 31, 2014 H. G0VIER SEELEY ON MAUISAURUS GARDNERL 541 29. On ]~AUISAURUS GARDN]~RI (Seele~), a~ ELAS]IiOSAURIANfro~}~ the Bxs~ of the GAcT.~ aS FOT.K~S~O~. By HARa~ GOVmR SEX,Y, :Esq., F.L.S., F.G.S., &e., Professor of Geography in King's Col- lege, London. (Read February 7, 1877.) [PLATE XXIII.] Tnm Gault hitherto has yie]ded but scanty remains of animals re- ferable to the Reptilia and to the Pal~eosauria; so that more than ordinary interest attaches to the discovery, in a comparatively per- fect condition, of remains belonging to a genus found hitherto only in New Zealand, which may be regarded as distinctive of the de- posit. The remains of this Plesiosaurian were first found, rolled and abraded, at the foot of the cliffs; much of the caudal region of the animal may therefore have disappeared by attrition, and by the gradual decay of the bones as exposed in the clay, which has partly invested them with selenite.
    [Show full text]
  • A Revision of the Classification of the Plesiosauria with a Synopsis of the Stratigraphical and Geographical Distribution Of
    LUNDS UNIVERSITETS ARSSKRIFT. N. F. Avd. 2. Bd 59. Nr l. KUNGL. FYSIOGRAFISKA SÅLLSKAPETS HANDLINGAR, N. F. Bd 74. Nr 1. A REVISION OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE PLESIOSAURIA WITH A SYNOPSIS OF THE STRATIGRAPHICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE GROUP BY PER OVE PERSSON LUND C. W. K. GLEER UP Read before the Royal Physiographic Society, February 13, 1963. LUND HÅKAN OHLSSONS BOKTRYCKERI l 9 6 3 l. Introduction The sub-order Plesiosauria is one of the best known of the Mesozoic Reptile groups, but, as emphasized by KuHN (1961, p. 75) and other authors, its classification is still not satisfactory, and needs a thorough revision. The present paper is an attempt at such a revision, and includes also a tabular synopsis of the stratigraphical and geo­ graphical distribution of the group. Some of the species are discussed in the text (pp. 17-22). The synopsis is completed with seven maps (figs. 2-8, pp. 10-16), a selective synonym list (pp. 41-42), and a list of rejected species (pp. 42-43). Some forms which have been erroneously referred to the Plesiosauria are also briefly mentioned ("Non-Plesiosaurians", p. 43). - The numerals in braekets after the generic and specific names in the text refer to the tabular synopsis, in which the different forms are numbered in successional order. The author has exaroined all material available from Sweden, Australia and Spitzbergen (PERSSON 1954, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1962a); the major part of the material from the British Isles, France, Belgium and Luxembourg; some of the German spec­ imens; certain specimens from New Zealand, now in the British Museum (see LYDEK­ KER 1889, pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Mesozoic Marine Reptile Palaeobiogeography in Response to Drifting Plates
    ÔØ ÅÒÙ×Ö ÔØ Mesozoic marine reptile palaeobiogeography in response to drifting plates N. Bardet, J. Falconnet, V. Fischer, A. Houssaye, S. Jouve, X. Pereda Suberbiola, A. P´erez-Garc´ıa, J.-C. Rage, P. Vincent PII: S1342-937X(14)00183-X DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2014.05.005 Reference: GR 1267 To appear in: Gondwana Research Received date: 19 November 2013 Revised date: 6 May 2014 Accepted date: 14 May 2014 Please cite this article as: Bardet, N., Falconnet, J., Fischer, V., Houssaye, A., Jouve, S., Pereda Suberbiola, X., P´erez-Garc´ıa, A., Rage, J.-C., Vincent, P., Mesozoic marine reptile palaeobiogeography in response to drifting plates, Gondwana Research (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2014.05.005 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT Mesozoic marine reptile palaeobiogeography in response to drifting plates To Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) Bardet N.a*, Falconnet J. a, Fischer V.b, Houssaye A.c, Jouve S.d, Pereda Suberbiola X.e, Pérez-García A.f, Rage J.-C.a and Vincent P.a,g a Sorbonne Universités CR2P, CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP 38, 57 rue Cuvier,
    [Show full text]
  • Morphologic and Ontogenetic Patterns in Elasmosaur Neck Length, with Comments on the Taxonomic Utility of Neck Length Variables F
    Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Biological Sciences Faculty Research Biological Sciences 6-2006 Morphologic and Ontogenetic Patterns in Elasmosaur Neck Length, with Comments on the Taxonomic Utility of Neck Length Variables F. Robin O’Keefe Marshall University, [email protected] Norton Hiller Follow this and additional works at: http://mds.marshall.edu/bio_sciences_faculty Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation O’Keefe FR, Hiller N (2006) Morphologic and ontogenetic patterns in elasmosaur neck length, with comments on the taxonomic utility of neck length variables. Paludicola 5:206–229. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Biological Sciences at Marshall Digital Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biological Sciences Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Marshall Digital Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Paludicola 5(4):206-229 June 2006 by the Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology MORPHOLOGIC AND ONTOGENETIC PATTERNS IN ELASMOSAUR NECK LENGTH, WITH COMMENTS ON THE TAXONOMIC UTILITY OF NECK LENGTH VARIABLES F. Robin O'Keefe1 and Norton Hiller2 1Department of Anatomy, NYCOM 2 rm. 321, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine Old Westbury, New York 11568, [email protected] 2Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue Christchurch, 8001 New Zealand, [email protected] ABSTRACT Elasmosaur cervical vertebrae are common fossils, but their taxonomic utility is limited due to a lack of understanding concerning their shape within and among taxa. In this paper, we analyze data from complete elasmosaur necks in an attempt to quantify and understand the variation in centrum dimensions.
    [Show full text]
  • Fordyce, RE 2006. New Light on New Zealand Mesozoic Reptiles
    Fordyce, R. E. 2006. New light on New Zealand Mesozoic reptiles. Geological Society of New Zealand newsletter 140: 6-15. The text below differs from original print format, but has the same content. P 6 New light on New Zealand Mesozoic reptiles R. Ewan Fordyce, Associate Professor, Otago University ([email protected]) Jeff Stilwell and coauthors recently (early 2006) published the first report of dinosaur bones from Chatham Island. The fossils include convincing material, and the occurrence promises more finds. Questions remain, however, about the stratigraphic setting. This commentary summarises the recent finds, considers earlier reports of New Zealand Mesozoic vertebrates, and reviews some broader issues of Mesozoic reptile paleobiology relevant to New Zealand. The Chatham Island finds A diverse team reports on the Chathams finds. Jeff Stilwell (fig. 1 here) is an invertebrate paleontologist with research interests on Gondwana breakup and Southern Hemisphere Cretaceous-early Cenozoic molluscs (e.g. Stilwell & Zinsmeister 1992), including Chatham Islands (1997). Several authors are vertebrate paleontologists – Chris Consoli, Tom Rich, Pat Vickers-Rich, Steven Salisbury, and Phil Currie – with diverse experience of dinosaurs. Rupert Sutherland and Graeme Wilson (GNS) are well-known for their research on tectonics and biostratigraphy. The Chathams article describes a range of isolated bones attributed to theropod (“beast-footed,” carnivorous) dinosaurs, including a centrum (main part or body of a vertebra), a pedal phalanx (toe bone), the proximal head of a tibia (lower leg bone, at the knee joint), a manual phalanx (finger bone) and a manual ungual (terminal “claw” of a finger). On names of groups, fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Reptilia: Sauropterygia)
    Records of the Westem Australian Museum Supplement No. 57: 201-205 (1999). Recent developments in Australasian sauropterygian palaeontology (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) Arthur R.I. Cruickshankl, R. Ewan Fordyce2 and John A. Long3 1 Earth Sciences Section, Leicester City Museum, New Walk, Leicester LE1 7EA, UK, and Geology Department, Leicester University, Leicester LII 7RH, UK; email: [email protected] 2 Department of Geology, Otago University, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand }Western Australian Museum, Francis Street, Perth, WA 6000, Australia Abstract -A brief review of recent research into Australasian sauropterygians is given. The earliest record is an Anisian pachypleurosaur from South Island, New Zealand. An Early Jurassic record from Queensland, hitherto included in the Plesiosauria is shown to be the last known pachypleurosaur. A diverse record of Pliosauroidea is known from the time of the break-up of East Gondwana, in marginal rift sediments of Western Australia and South Australia, dated to the earliest Cretaceous. The record of the marine incursion into the Eromanga Basin, Queensland, contains Albian-age pliosaurs and elasmosaurs. The New Zealand plesiosaurian record contains mostly members of the 'long-necked' Plesiosauroidea, all from the Haumurian stage of the Campanian-Maastrichtian. One specimen represents a unique record of a cryptoclidid in Australasia, more closely related to the European Callovian Cryptoclidus than to the other late cryptoclidids known from South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. INTRODUCTION NEW ZEALAND MATERIAL The sauropterygians were an entirely aquatic Sauropterygians have been known for over a group of reptiles which trace their ancestry to the century from the Haumurian Stage of the Late Permian tangasaurids of Madagascar, and Campanian-Maastrichtian in South Island, New whose intermediate evolutionary stages, the Zealand (Welles and Gregg 1971; Hiller et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Revision of the Genus Styxosaurus and Relationships of the Late Cretaceous Elasmosaurids (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) of the Western Interior Seaway
    Marshall University Marshall Digital Scholar Theses, Dissertations and Capstones 2020 Revision of the Genus Styxosaurus and Relationships of the Late Cretaceous Elasmosaurids (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) of the Western Interior Seaway Elliott Armour Smith Follow this and additional works at: https://mds.marshall.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons, Paleobiology Commons, and the Paleontology Commons REVISION OF THE GENUS STYXOSAURUS AND RELATIONSHIPS OF THE LATE CRETACEOUS ELASMOSAURIDS (SAUROPTERYGIA: PLESIOSAURIA) OF THE WESTERN INTERIOR SEAWAY A thesis submitted to the Graduate College of Marshall University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In Biological Sciences by Elliott Armour Smith Approved by Dr. F. Robin O’Keefe, Committee Chairperson Dr. Habiba Chirchir, Committee Member Dr. Herman Mays, Committee Member Marshall University May 2020 ii © 2020 Elliott Armour Smith ALL RIGHTS RESERVED iii DEDICATION Dedicated to my loving parents for supporting me on my journey as a scientist. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Robin O’Keefe for serving as my advisor, and for his constant mentorship and invaluable contributions to this manuscript. I would like to thank Dr. Herman Mays and Dr. Habiba Chirchir for serving on my committee and providing immensely valuable feedback on this manuscript and the ideas within. Thanks to the Marshall University Department of Biological Sciences for travel support. I would like to thank curators Ross Secord (University of Nebraska), Chris Beard (University of Kansas), Tylor Lyson (Denver Museum of Nature and Science), and Darrin Paginac (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology) for granting access to fossil specimens. Thanks to Joel Nielsen (University of Nebraska State Museum), Megan Sims (University of Kansas), Kristen MacKenzie (Denver Museum of Nature and Science) for facilitating access to fossil specimens.
    [Show full text]
  • Vertebrate'' Elasmosaurus Platyurus Cope 1868
    Revised Vertebral Count in the ‘‘Longest-Necked Vertebrate’’ Elasmosaurus platyurus Cope 1868, and Clarification of the Cervical-Dorsal Transition in Plesiosauria Sven Sachs1*, Benjamin P. Kear2, Michael J. Everhart3 1 Engelskirchen, Germany, 2 Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden, 3 Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, United States of America Abstract Elasmosaurid plesiosaurians are renowned for their immensely long necks, and indeed, possessed the highest number of cervical vertebrae for any known vertebrate. Historically, the largest count has been attributed to the iconic Elasmosaurus platyurus from the Late Cretaceous of Kansas, but estimates for the total neck series in this taxon have varied between published reports. Accurately determining the number of vertebral centra vis-a`-vis the maximum length of the neck in plesiosaurians has significant implications for phylogenetic character designations, as well as the inconsistent terminology applied to some osteological structures. With these issues in mind, we reassessed the holotype of E. platyurus as a model for standardizing the debated cervical-dorsal transition in plesiosaurians, and during this procedure, documented a ‘‘lost’’ cervical centrum. Our revision also advocates retention of the term ‘‘pectorals’’ to describe the usually three or more distinctive vertebrae close to the cranial margin of the forelimb girdle that bear a functional rib facet transected by the neurocentral suture, and thus conjointly formed by both the parapophysis on the centrum body and diapophysis from the neural arch (irrespective of rib length). This morphology is unambiguously distinguishable from standard cervicals, in which the functional rib facet is borne exclusively on the centrum, and dorsals in which the rib articulation is situated above the neurocentral suture and functionally borne only by the transverse process of the neural arch.
    [Show full text]
  • Anatomy and Systematics of the Rhomaleosauridae (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria)
    Anatomy and Systematics of the Rhomaleosauridae (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) Adam Stuart Smith BSc (hons) (Portsmouth), MSc (Bristol) A thesis submitted to the National University of Ireland, University College Dublin for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2007 Supervisor: Dr Gareth J. Dyke Head of School: Professor Thomas Bolger School of Biology and Environmental Science University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4 Ireland i Contents Frontispiece i Contents ii List of figures vi Acknowledgements xviii Declaration xx Abstract xxi Chapter 1. Introduction and objectives………………………………………….. 1 1.1 General introduction 1 1.2 Palaeobiology 4 1.3 Locomotion 7 1.4 Anatomy 10 1.5 Taxonomic diversity 12 1.6 Thesis objectives 14 1.7 Thesis structure 14 Chapter 2 - Historical background………………………………………………... 16 2.1 History of plesiosaurs 16 2.2 Plesiosaur systematics 16 2.3 Pliosauroidea 16 2.4 Rhomaleosauridae – taxon history 20 2.5 Rhomaleosauridae – previous research 24 2.6 Rhomaleosaurus or Thaumatosaurus? 25 Chapter 3 - Material and palaeontological approaches………………………. 27 3.1 Institutional abbreviations 27 3.2 Data collection –general 28 3.3 NMING F8785 Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni 30 3.3.1 History 30 3.3.2 Iconic specimen 33 3.4 NMING 10194 38 3.5 NMING F8749 38 3.6 NMNH R1336, NMING F8780, TCD.22931 Plesiosaurus 41 macrocephalus 3.7 NMING F8771 and TCD.22932 Thalassiodracon hawkinsi 41 3.8 BMNH 49202 45 3.9 BMNH R38525 Archaeonectrus rostratus 45 ii 3.10 BMNH R4853 Rhomaleosaurus thorntoni 45 3.11 BMNH R2028*, R2029*, R1317, R2061*, R2047*, R2027*, 49 R1318, R1319 and R2030* Eurycleidus arcuatus 3.12 BMNH R5488 Macroplata tenuiceps 50 3.13 BMNH R1310, TCD.47762a, TCD.47762b, 51 3.14 YORYM G503 Rhomaleosaurus zetlandicus 51 3.15 WM 851.S Rhomaleosaurus propinquus 54 3.16 SMNS12478 Rhomaleosaurus victor 54 3.17 LEICS G221.1851 54 3.18 WARMS G10875 56 3.19 TCD.57763 Attenborosaurus conybeari 56 3.20 Additional material 56 3.21 Possible rhomaleosaurids excluded from this study 58 Chapter 4 - Specimen descriptions……………………………………………….
    [Show full text]
  • A New Leptocleidid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Vectis Formation
    This article was downloaded by: [University of Southampton Highfield] On: 11 December 2012, At: 03:41 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Systematic Palaeontology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjsp20 A new leptocleidid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Vectis Formation (Early Barremian–early Aptian; Early Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight and the evolution of Leptocleididae, a controversial clade Roger B. J. Benson a , Hilary F. Ketchum b , Darren Naish c d & Langan E. Turner c a Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK b University Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, UK c School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Burnaby Building, Burnaby Road, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, PO1 3QL, UK d Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK Version of record first published: 11 Dec 2012. To cite this article: Roger B. J. Benson , Hilary F. Ketchum , Darren Naish & Langan E. Turner (2012): A new leptocleidid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Vectis Formation (Early Barremian–early Aptian; Early Cretaceous) of the Isle of Wight and the evolution of Leptocleididae, a controversial clade, Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, DOI:10.1080/14772019.2011.634444 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2011.634444 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.
    [Show full text]