Yuzhoupliosaurus

Taxobox
name = Yuzhoupliosaurus
fossil_range = Middle Jurassic


image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Sauropterygia
unranked = Eusauropterygia
ordo = Plesiosauria
familia = Rhomaleosauridae
genus = "Yuzhoupliosaurus"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
* "Y. chengjiangensis" (type) Zhang, 1985"Yuzhoupliosaurus" is a extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. The genus is known only from a lower jaw, a vertebra, and fragments of a pectoral girdle. It is believed this genus lived in fresh water Fact|date=May 2008.

Etymology

The Genus was named after Yuzhou (禹州), the previous name of Chungking- a major city on the Yangtze River, and where the first fossil of " Yuzhoupliosaurus" was found.

Description

Paleontologists believe Yuzhoupliosaurus to have been approxamatley 4 meters long. the lower jaw contains five pairs of large teeth and 23 or 234 smaller teeth. the cervical vertebra are considered "high and short". The anterior cervical ribs are Double-headed while the posterior cervical ribs are single-headed. The coracoids are elongated and the clavicles are well-developed.

References

*Zhang, Y (1985). A new plesiosaur from Middle Jurassic of Sichuan Basin. "Vertebrata PalAsiatica" 23: 235-240.