Sauropterygia

Sauropterygia is an extinct clade of diverse, generally marine reptiles that developed from terrestrial ancestors soon after the end-Permian extinction and flourished during the Triassic before all except for the Plesiosauria became extinct at the end of that period. The plesiosaurs would continue to diversify until the end of the Mesozoic, when they became extinct as part of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. Other than being diapsids, their affinities to other reptiles have long been contentious. Sometimes suggested to be closely related to turtles, other proposals have considered them most closely related to Lepidosauromorpha or Archosauromorpha, and/or the marine reptile groups Thalattosauria and Ichthyosauromorpha.

Sauropterygia

Ghedoghedo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
DiapsidaPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
marinePBDB

Time the record covers

At least 174 million years on record.

The record covers at least 247 Mya to 72.2 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 251.902 Mya to 56 Mya.

Permian — about 0 of 1582 occurrencesEarly Triassic — about 12 of 1582 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 352 of 1582 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 62 of 1582 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 108 of 1582 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 90 of 1582 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 202 of 1582 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 166 of 1582 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 589 of 1582 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 1 of 1582 occurrencesEocene — about 0 of 1582 occurrences256–249 Mya — about 3 occurrences249–242 Mya — about 134 occurrences242–235 Mya — about 232 occurrences235–229 Mya — about 16 occurrences229–222 Mya — about 5 occurrences222–215 Mya — about 2 occurrences215–208 Mya — about 4 occurrences208–201 Mya — about 29 occurrences201–195 Mya — about 44 occurrences195–188 Mya — about 18 occurrences188–181 Mya — about 30 occurrences181–174 Mya — about 18 occurrences174–168 Mya — about 13 occurrences168–161 Mya — about 80 occurrences161–154 Mya — about 50 occurrences154–147 Mya — about 99 occurrences147–140 Mya — about 55 occurrences140–134 Mya — about 25 occurrences134–127 Mya — about 19 occurrences127–120 Mya — about 32 occurrences120–113 Mya — about 22 occurrences113–106 Mya — about 24 occurrences106–100 Mya — about 49 occurrences100–93 Mya — about 94 occurrences93–86 Mya — about 79 occurrences86–79 Mya — about 105 occurrences79–72 Mya — about 105 occurrences72–66 Mya — about 194 occurrences66–59 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences59–52 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences247 Mya72.2 Mya256 Mya52 Mya

1,582 occurrences of Sauropterygia on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

1,582 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

327 formations

Kimmeridge Clay — 51.74°N, 1.31°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.58°N, 2.07°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.75°N, 1.18°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.25°N, 2.16°WKimmeridge Clay — 52.35°N, 0.22°EKimmeridge Clay — 51.76°N, 1.20°WKimmeridge Clay — 52.60°N, 0.38°EKimmeridge Clay — 52.40°N, 0.28°EKimmeridge Clay — 52.36°N, 0.15°EKimmeridge Clay — 52.39°N, 0.20°EKimmeridge Clay — 53.39°N, 0.34°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.61°N, 2.45°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.57°N, 1.80°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.63°N, 2.38°WKimmeridge Clay — 54.15°N, 0.23°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.41°N, 2.00°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.35°N, 1.99°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.63°N, 2.34°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.04°N, 2.28°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.80°N, 0.85°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.03°N, 2.21°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.92°N, 2.90°WKimmeridge Clay — 51.37°N, 2.17°WKimmeridge Clay — 50.54°N, 2.42°WOxford Clay — 52.54°N, 0.25°WOxford Clay — 50.62°N, 2.50°WOxford Clay — 52.55°N, 0.25°WOxford Clay — 51.83°N, 0.70°WOxford Clay — 51.75°N, 1.18°WOxford Clay — 52.07°N, 0.50°WOxford Clay — 52.17°N, 0.49°WOxford Clay — 52.40°N, 0.24°WOxford Clay — 52.22°N, 0.26°WOxford Clay — 51.78°N, 1.29°WOxford Clay — 50.75°N, 2.35°WOxford Clay — 51.50°N, 2.06°WOxford Clay — 52.55°N, 0.12°WOxford Clay — 52.56°N, 0.29°WConway — 42.85°S, 173.28°EConway — 43.05°S, 172.58°EConway — 42.58°S, 173.49°EConway — 43.06°S, 172.58°EConway — 42.85°S, 173.27°ELópez de Bertodano — 64.27°S, 56.72°WLópez de Bertodano — 64.31°S, 56.86°WLópez de Bertodano — 63.86°S, 57.57°WLópez de Bertodano — 64.28°S, 56.76°WNiobrara — 38.91°N, 101.18°WNiobrara — 38.72°N, 100.70°WNiobrara — 39.03°N, 99.57°WNiobrara — 39.00°N, 99.48°WNiobrara — 38.70°N, 100.35°WNiobrara — 38.77°N, 100.57°WNiobrara — 38.78°N, 100.28°WNiobrara — 38.65°N, 100.48°WNiobrara — 38.75°N, 100.73°WNiobrara — 38.95°N, 101.16°WNiobrara — 38.93°N, 100.53°WNiobrara — 39.67°N, 98.21°WNiobrara — 38.91°N, 101.49°WNiobrara — 38.91°N, 101.32°WNiobrara — 38.91°N, 101.59°WNiobrara — 43.41°N, 103.31°WAllen — 40.06°S, 66.80°WAllen — 40.02°S, 66.71°WAllen — 39.75°S, 66.75°WAllen — 39.47°S, 67.33°WAllen — 38.78°S, 68.08°WAllen — 40.03°S, 66.82°WAllen — 39.57°S, 66.98°WAllen — 40.73°S, 67.17°WAllen — 38.74°S, 68.06°WAllen — 39.91°S, 66.57°WDinosaur Park — 50.81°N, 111.32°WDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.41°WDinosaur Park — 50.83°N, 111.60°WDinosaur Park — 50.74°N, 111.48°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.42°WDinosaur Park — 50.76°N, 111.49°WDinosaur Park — 50.68°N, 108.09°WPierre Shale — 38.90°N, 101.13°WPierre Shale — 44.19°N, 99.70°WPierre Shale — 43.41°N, 103.31°WPierre Shale — 43.40°N, 104.17°WPierre Shale — 43.01°N, 103.30°WPierre Shale — 39.01°N, 101.37°WPierre Shale — 43.63°N, 99.36°WPierre Shale — 43.31°N, 104.22°WPierre Shale — 39.00°N, 101.00°WPierre Shale — 38.88°N, 101.20°WPierre Shale — 42.70°N, 96.82°WPierre Shale — 43.24°N, 104.29°WPierre Shale — 43.19°N, 103.61°WPierre Shale — 43.58°N, 103.20°WPierre Shale — 43.25°N, 104.26°WLa Colonia — 42.95°S, 67.55°WLa Colonia — 42.92°S, 67.47°WLa Colonia — 42.96°S, 67.55°WLa Colonia — 42.83°S, 68.45°WBesano — 45.91°N, 8.94°EFalang — 25.20°N, 105.01°EFalang — 25.08°N, 104.88°EFalang — 25.08°N, 104.67°EFalang — 25.67°N, 104.25°EFalang — 25.16°N, 104.82°EGuanling — 25.70°N, 104.45°EGuanling — 25.47°N, 104.83°EGuanling — 24.78°N, 104.33°EGuanling — 24.88°N, 104.31°EGuanling — 24.52°N, 103.93°EGuanling — 24.90°N, 104.20°ETahora — 38.92°S, 176.83°ETahora — 39.00°S, 176.75°EJena — 50.90°N, 11.30°EJena — 51.42°N, 11.68°EJena — 52.47°N, 13.78°EJena — 51.22°N, 11.77°EBlue Lias — 51.13°N, 2.77°WBlue Lias — 52.24°N, 1.46°WBlue Lias — 51.13°N, 2.73°WBlue Lias — 52.75°N, 1.15°WBlue Lias — 51.14°N, 2.55°WBlue Lias — 51.18°N, 3.33°WBlue Lias — 52.36°N, 1.86°WBlue Lias — 52.03°N, 2.15°WGreenhorn Limestone — 37.22°N, 103.60°WGreenhorn Limestone — 39.00°N, 98.92°WGreenhorn Limestone — 38.58°N, 98.45°WGreenhorn Limestone — 39.53°N, 97.66°WGreenhorn Limestone — 38.91°N, 98.53°WGreenhorn Limestone — 38.78°N, 99.22°WGreenhorn Limestone — 39.16°N, 98.33°WGreenhorn Limestone — 39.45°N, 97.53°WGreenhorn Limestone — 44.65°N, 103.58°WGriman Creek — 29.43°S, 147.98°EGriman Creek — 26.08°S, 148.54°EGriman Creek — 29.46°S, 147.97°EGriman Creek — 29.45°S, 147.78°EGriman Creek — 29.45°S, 147.76°EGriman Creek — 29.44°S, 147.73°EGriman Creek — 29.40°S, 147.91°ESnow Hill Island — 63.93°S, 57.85°WSnow Hill Island — 63.88°S, 57.59°WSnow Hill Island — 64.00°S, 57.51°WSnow Hill Island — 63.91°S, 57.46°WVossenveld — 51.97°N, 6.73°EVossenveld — 51.97°N, 6.78°ECassina — 45.91°N, 8.95°ESundance — 44.57°N, 108.05°WSundance — 43.55°N, 107.77°WSundance — 44.60°N, 107.76°WSundance — 42.84°N, 107.65°WSundance — 43.41°N, 106.75°WSundance — 44.84°N, 111.73°WSundance — 41.64°N, 105.59°WErfurt — 49.21°N, 9.68°EErfurt — 50.88°N, 10.95°EErfurt — 49.04°N, 9.77°EErfurt — 48.90°N, 9.20°EErfurt — 49.07°N, 9.90°ECarlile Shale — 39.47°N, 98.95°WCarlile Shale — 38.39°N, 99.83°WCarlile Shale — 39.05°N, 99.02°WCarlile Shale — 39.38°N, 98.54°WCarlile Shale — 38.87°N, 99.18°WCarlile Shale — 38.91°N, 98.81°WCarlile Shale — 39.10°N, 99.04°WCarlile Shale — 38.88°N, 97.37°WCarlile Shale — 39.34°N, 98.47°WCarlile Shale — 39.19°N, 99.03°WCarlile Shale — 39.78°N, 98.15°WAgardhfjellet — 78.34°N, 15.92°EAgardhfjellet — 78.08°N, 18.83°EAgardhfjellet — 78.32°N, 16.18°EAgardhfjellet — 78.34°N, 15.83°EAgardhfjellet — 78.34°N, 16.05°E

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Sauropterygia has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 303 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 367 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Sauropterygia and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Sauropterygia and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

1,438 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1,128 sites for Sauropterygia, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

702 references

Each of the 1,582 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 690 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Sauropterygia

Credit
Ghedoghedo
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itDiapsida through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Owen 1859)