Pliosaurid Research Articles

Giant Pliosaur (Reptilia; Sauropterygia) from the Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan and Some Remarks on the Systematics of Pliosauridae

The partially preserved specimen of a giant pliosaur from the Tithonian of Kazakhstan is described. It is the only Jurassic pliosaur currently known from the Central Asia. The diagnostic value of some vertebral characters in Pliosauridae systematics is discussed.

A PLIOSAURID TOOTH FROM THE ARGILLE VARICOLORI FORMATION NEAR CASTELVECCHIO DI PRIGNANO (MODENA PROVINCE, NORTHERN ITALY)

The first discovery of a Cretaceous pliosaurid tooth in Italy is reported. It comes from the Cenomanian-lower Campanian Argille Varicolori Formation near Castelvecchio di Prignano (Modena Province, northern Italy). Excepting this new specimen, Italy's only reported pliosaurid is a humerus from the Upper Cretaceous of Zavattarello near Pavia. The tooth morphology allows it to be ascribed to Polyptychodon interruptus Owen, 1841, a species only reported thus far from northern-central Europe (England, Germany, and the Czech Republic). This suggests the presence of marine reptile remains in the northern Apennines may have been underestimated.