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Terminonatator ponteixensis

Reptilia - Plesiosauria - Elasmosauridae

Taxonomy
Terminonatator ponteixensis was named by Sato (2003). Its type specimen is RSM P2414.1, a skeleton (skull, partly disarticulated vertebral column, incomplete pectoral and pelvic girdles, fore- and hind limbs, disarticulated ribs and gastralia, and gastroliths), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Notukeu Creek (14 m), which is in a Campanian marine shale in the Bearpaw Shale Formation of Canada.

Synonymy list
YearName and author
2003Terminonatator ponteixensis Sato p. 90
2019Terminonatator ponteixensis O'Gorman

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
RankNameAuthor
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
suborderSauropterygia
orderPlesiosauriade Blainville 1835
superfamilyPlesiosauroideaWelles 1943
familyElasmosauridaeCope 1869
—Euelasmosaurida
—Elasmosaurinae
genusTerminonatator
speciesponteixensis

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.

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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
T. Sato 2003An elasmosaurid plesiosaur sensu Brown (1993). The characters unique to this taxon are the nine teeth on the premaxillae (see description for discussion on potential individual variation), and the high and pointed coronoid process. The following features are not unique to this taxon, but can be used to distinguish it from other elasmosaurs (see DISCUSSION): closure of the pineal foramen, single-headed ribs, a deep ventral notch in the anterior cervical centra, the presence of the lateral longitudinal ridge in the anterior cervicals only, the dorsal end of the ilium fan-shaped, the anterolateral process of the pubis, the humerus without the posterior expansion above the ulna, the slender femur that is longer than the humerus, the short epipodials, the three distal tarsals, and a fifth metapodial that is proximally shifted
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Environment: marineo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquatico
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: carnivoreo
Reproduction: viviparouso
Created: 2009-07-20 06:05:48
Modified: 2011-08-12 01:58:15
Source: o = order
Reference: Kiessling 2004

Age range: Late/Upper Campanian or 83.50000 to 70.60000 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Campanian83.5 - 70.6Canada (Saskatchewan) Terminonatator ponteixensis (type locality: 31122)