Polyptychodon

Polyptychodon
Temporal range: Early - Late Cretaceous, 112–89.3Ma
P. interruptus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Plesiosauria
Suborder: Pliosauroidea
Family: Pliosauridae
Genus: Polyptychodon
Owen, 1841[1]
Species

Polyptychodon (meaning 'shaped fin tooth') is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile belonging to the family Pliosauridae that lived during the Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in Europe and North America.

P. interruptus jaw with tooth
P. hudsoni

The type species, P. interruptus is known from Albian stage deposits from England.[1][3] Greensand Formation pliosaur teeth and vertebrae from England and eastern France have long been placed within this poorly known genus.[3] Comparison between French Albian-aged isolated vertebrae and Kronosaurus suggests a size of approximately 7 m for Polyptychodon.[3] One species is known from North America (P. hudsoni, holotytpe = SMU 60313). It is known from Turonian stage rocks of Dallas, Texas.[2] The holotype for P. hudsoni was discovered in the early 1960s, in west Dallas near Chalk Hill Road. Another specimen of "Polyptychodon" was found during excavation related to construction of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Owen R. (1840-1845 [1841]). Odontography. Hippolyte Baillière, London, 655 p.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Welles SP, Slaughter BH. 1963. The first record of the plesiosaurian genus Polyptychodon (Pliosauridae) from the New World. Journal of Paleontology 37 (1):131-133.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Buffetaut E, Colleté C, Dubus B, Petit J-L. 2005. The "sauropod" from the Albian of Mesnil-Saint-Père (Aube, France): a pliosaur, not a dinosaur. Association Géologique Auboise, Bulletin Annuel, Sainte-Savine 26: 3-8.
  4. ↑ "Plesiosaur Unearthed During Preliminary Excavation for the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport"

External links