Pistosauroidea

Extinct clade of reptiles

Pistosauroidea
Temporal range: Early Triassic-Late Cretaceous, 251–66 Ma
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Life restoration of Augustasaurus hagdorni
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Sauropterygia
Clade: Eosauropterygia
Clade: Pistosauroidea
Baur, 1887-90
Subgroups

Pistosauroidea is a group of marine reptiles within the superorder Sauropterygia that first appeared in the latter part of the Early Triassic and were the ancestors of plesiosaurs. Pistosauroids are rare in Triassic marine assemblages, and are represented by only a few fossils from central Europe, the United States, and China.[1] Recent phylogenetic analyses consider the Triassic pistosauroids to be a paraphyletic grouping, meaning that they do not form a true clade. Plesiosauria is now placed within Pistosauroidea, while the traditional pistosauroids are successively more basal, or primitive, sauropterygians.[2]

Below is a cladogram of pistosauroid relationships from Cheng et al. (2006):[1]

Below is a cladogram of pistosauroid relationships from Ketchum & Benson, 2011:[3]

Pistosauroidea 

Cymatosaurus

 Pistosauria 

References

  1. ^ a b Cheng, Y.-N.; Sato, T.; Wu, X.-C.; Li, C. (2006). "First complete pistosauroid from the Triassic of China" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (2): 501–503. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[501:fcpftt]2.0.co;2. S2CID 85634946. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-28.
  2. ^ Rieppel, O.; Sander, P.M.; Storrs, G.W. (2002). "The skull of the pistosaur Augustasaurus from the Middle Triassic of northwestern Nevada" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22 (3): 577–592. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0577:tsotpa]2.0.co;2. S2CID 131693849. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-16.
  3. ^ Hilary F. Ketchum; Roger B. J. Benson (2011). "A new pliosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic, Callovian) of England: evidence for a gracile, longirostrine grade of Early-Middle Jurassic pliosaurids". Special Papers in Palaeontology. 86: 109–129.
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Sauropsida
    • see Sauropsida
Sauropterygia
    • see below↓
Helveticosauridae?
Saurosphargidae?
Placodontia
Cyamodontoidea
Eosauropterygia
    • see below↓
Helveticosaurus zollingeri Placochelys placodonta
Pachypleurosauria
Nothosauroidea
Simosauridae
Nothosauridae
Pistosauroidea
Plesiosauria
    • see below↓
Keichousaurus hui

Nothosaurus mirabilis

Pistosaurus longaevus
Rhomaleosauridae
Pliosauridae
Thalassophonea
Brachaucheninae
Plesiosauroidea
Microcleididae
Cryptoclidia
    • see below↓
Macroplata tenuiceps

Attenborosaurus conybeari

Hydrorion brachypterygius
Cryptoclididae
Colymbosaurinae
Cryptoclidinae
Muraenosaurinae
Leptocleidia
Leptocleididae
Polycotylidae
Palmulasaurinae
Occultonectia
Polycotylinae
Dolichorhynchia
Euelasmosaurida
Elasmosaurinae
Weddellonectia
Aristonectinae
Cryptoclidus eurymerus

Leptocleidus capensis

Elasmosaurus platyurus
Taxon identifiers
Pistosauroidea


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