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Rhomaleosaurus
Taxonomy
Rhomaleosaurus was named by Seeley (1874) [Sepkoski's age data: J Hett J Toar-u Sepkoski's reference number: 746,1269].
It was synonymized subjectively with Thaumatosaurus by Lydekker (1889).
It was assigned to Leptocleididae by White (1940); to Pliosauridae by Carroll (1988), Cruickshank (1994), Cruickshank (1996); to Plesiosauria by Sepkoski (2002); and to Rhomaleosauridae by O'Keefe (2001), Smith and Dyke (2008), Ketchum and Benson (2010), Benson et al. (2012), Benson and Druckenmiller (2014).
It was synonymized subjectively with Thaumatosaurus by Lydekker (1889).
It was assigned to Leptocleididae by White (1940); to Pliosauridae by Carroll (1988), Cruickshank (1994), Cruickshank (1996); to Plesiosauria by Sepkoski (2002); and to Rhomaleosauridae by O'Keefe (2001), Smith and Dyke (2008), Ketchum and Benson (2010), Benson et al. (2012), Benson and Druckenmiller (2014).
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1874 | Rhomaleosaurus Seeley pp. 448-449 |
| 1940 | Rhomaleosaurus White p. 465 |
| 1988 | Rhomaleosaurus Carroll |
| 1994 | Rhomaleosaurus Cruickshank p. 250 |
| 1996 | Rhomaleosaurus Cruickshank pp. 109-113 |
| 2001 | Rhomaleosaurus O'Keefe p. 19 fig. 20 |
| 2002 | Rhomaleosaurus Sepkoski |
| 2008 | Rhomaleosaurus Smith and Dyke p. 976 figs. 1-3 |
| 2010 | Rhomaleosaurus Ketchum and Benson p. 15 |
| 2012 | Rhomaleosaurus Benson et al. fig. 4 |
| 2014 | Rhomaleosaurus Benson and Druckenmiller figs. 2-3 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Rhomaleosaurus Seeley 1874
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†Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni Carte and Baily 1863
†Rhomaleosaurus megacephalus Stutchbury 1846
†Rhomaleosaurus zetlandicus Phillips 1854
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Invalid names: Plesiosaurus propinquus Tate and Blake 1876 [synonym], Rhomaleosaurus thorntoni Andrews 1922 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| A. S. Smith and G. J. Dyke 2008 | Rhomaleosaurus is a large pliosaur characterised by the following apomorphic combination of skull characters, as identified by phylogenetic analysis: (1) rounded dorsomedian foramen situated between the nares, (2) foramina present on the frontals, (3) premaxilla–maxilla sutures run parallel to each other anterior to the nares, (4) palatine excluded from internal naris (choanae), (5) length and width of premaxillary rostrum subequal, (6) short mandibular symphysis (length/width=0.60–0.89), (7) rounded bulb/bump protruding from the medial margin of the retroarticular process and (8) presence of a quadrate foramen. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: o = order | |||||
| Reference: Kiessling 2004 | |||||
Age range: base of the Rhaetian to the top of the Early/Lower Toarcian or 208.50000 to 182.00000 Ma
Collections (11 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhaetian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus megacephalus (96612) | |
| Early/Lower Hettangian | United Kingdom (England) | R. megacephalus (119083 119284 119285) | |
| Pliensbachian - Toarcian | United Kingdom (England) | Thaumatosaurus propinquus (142108) | |
| Early/Lower Toarcian | United Kingdom (England) | Plesiosaurus zetlandicus (90458) R. propinquus, Plesiosaurus cramptoni (90448) | |
| Falciferum - Bifrons | United Kingdom (England) | R. propinquus, R. cramptoni (90459) Thaumatosaurus cramptoni, R. thorntoni (118939) | |
| Toarcian | United Kingdom (England) | Thaumatosaurus cramptoni, Thaumatosaurus propinquus (122373) Thaumatosaurus propinquus (142107) |