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Contact

About the author
Email: plesiosauria@gmail.com
Follow: @adamstuartsmith

Higher taxa

  • Sauropterygia
  • Eosauropterygia
  • Eusauropterygia
  • Pachypleurosauria
  • Nothosauria
  • Pistosauroidea
  • Pistosauria
  • Plesiosauria
  • Pliosauroidea
  • Plesiosauroidea

Families

  • Aristonectidae
  • Brachauchenidae
  • Cimoliasauridae
  • Cryptoclididae
  • Elasmosauridae
  • Leptocleididae
  • Microcleididae
  • Plesiosauridae
  • Pliosauridae
  • Polycotylidae
  • Rhomaleosauridae

Genera

The genera section is under construction, active pages are indicated by an asterisk

  • A
  • Albertonectes
  • Alexeyisaurus
  • Alzadosaurus
  • Anningasaura
  • Aphrosaurus
  • * 'Apractocleidus'
  • * Archaeonectrus
  • * Aristonectes
  • * Attenborosaurus
  • Augustasaurus
  • Avalonnectes
  • B
  • Bathyspondylus
  • Bishanopliosaurus
  • * Bobosaurus
  • Borealonectes
  • Brachauchenius
  • * Brancasaurus
  • C
  • Callawayasaurus
  • 'Cimoliasaurus'
  • Colymbosaurus
  • * Cryptoclidus
  • D
  • Dolichorhynchops
  • E
  • * Edgarosaurus
  • * Elasmosaurus
  • Eoplesiosaurus
  • Eopolycotylus
  • * Eretmosaurus
  • Eromangasaurus
  • Eurycleidus
  • F
  • Fresnosaurus
  • Futabasaurus
  • G
  • Gallardosaurus
  • Georgiasaurus
  • H
  • Hauffiosaurus
  • Hydralmosaurus
  • Hydrorion
  • Hydrotherosaurus
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • * Kaiwhekea
  • * Kimmerosaurus
  • * Kronosaurus
  • L
  • * Leptocleidus
  • Leurospondylus
  • * Libonectes
  • * Liopleurodon
  • Lusonectes
  • M
  • * Macroplata
  • Manemergus
  • * Maresaurus
  • Marmornectes
  • Mauisaurus
  • Megalneusaurus
  • * Meyerasaurus
  • Microcleidus
  • Morenosaurus
  • * 'Morturneria'
  • Muraenosaurus
  • N
  • Nichollssaura
  • O
  • * Occitanosaurus
  • 'Ogmodirus'
  • Opallionectes
  • P
  • * Pachycostasaurus
  • Pahasapasaurus
  • Palmulasaurus
  • Pantosaurus
  • * Peloneustes
  • Pistosaurus
  • Plesiopleurodon
  • Plesiopterys
  • * Plesiosaurus
  • Pliosaurus
  • Polycotylus
  • Polyptychodon
  • Q
  • R
  • * Rhomaleosaurus
  • S
  • Seeleyosaurus
  • Scanisaurus
  • * Simolestes
  • Sthenarosaurus
  • Stratesaurus
  • 'Stretosaurus'
  • Strongylokrotaphus
  • Styxosaurus
  • Sulcusuchus
  • T
  • Tatenectes
  • Terminonatator
  • * Thalassiodracon
  • * Thalassomedon
  • 'Thaumatosaurus'
  • *Thililua
  • Trememesacleis'
  • *Tricleidus
  • Trinacromerum
  • Tuarangisaurus
  • U
  • Umoonasaurus
  • V
  • Vinialesaurus
  • W
  • Wapuskanectes
  • Westphaliasaurus
  • Woolungasaurus
  • X
  • Y
  • Yuzhoupliosaurus
  • Z
  • Zarafasaura

Line drawings - bones and skeletons

This gallery contains line drawings and historical lithographs of plesiosaur bones and skeletons, including reconstucted skulls and skeletons. The images are ordered alphabetically by genus name.

Skeleton of Archaeonectrus. Lithograph from Owen (1865).
Skull of Aristonectes in various aspects. From Gasparini et al. (2003).
Skeleton of Bobosaurus, preserved in situ. From Dalla Vecchia (2006)
Skull of Brancasaurus in dorsal and lateral view, and showing the tip of the snout (C) in ventral view (from Wegner, 1914)
Skull of Callawayasaurus in lateral and dorsal view. From Welles (1962).
Skeleton of Cryptoclidus in lateral view. From Brown (1981).
Skull of Cryptoclidus in lateral view. From Brown (1981).
Skeleton of Eretmosaurus. Lithograph from Owen (1865).
Skull of Kaiwhekea. From Cruickshank and Fordyce (2002).
Skull of Kimmerosaurus. From Brown (1981).
Mandible of Kimmerosaurus. From Brown (1981).
Skull of Leptocleidus capensis in dorsal view (from Cruickshank, 1997)
Skull of Leptocleidus capensis in lateral view (from Cruickshank, 1997)
Skull of Leptocleidus capensis in ventral view (from Cruickshank, 1997)
Cranium of Leptocleidus superstes (lateral view, top left; ventral (palatal) view, top right) and vertebrae. Length of vertebral series approx. 45cm (from Andrews, 1922).
Pectoral girdle of Leptocleidus superstes in dorsal view (left), anterior view (top right), lateral view (bottom right), right humerus (center), and ribs (left)Length of pectoral girdle approx. 40cm (from Andrews, 1922).
Skull of Libonectes. Modified from Carpenter (1997).
Skull of Libonectes, showing details of internal structure and braincase. Modified from Carpenter (1997).
Skull of Liopleurodon rossicus. From Novozhilov (1948).
Skull of Liopleurodon ferox in lateral view and posterior view. From Noe et. al. (2003).
Skeleton of Liopleurodon ferox in dorsal view. From Newman and Tarlo (1967).
Skeleton and muscular reconstruction of Liopleurodon ferox in lateral view. From Newman and Tarlo (1967).
Skull of Liopleurodon ferox in dorsal and ventral view. From Andrews (1897).
Skull of Maresaurus in lateral, dorsal and ventral view. From Gasparini (1997).
Skeleton of Meyerasaruus in ventral view. By Adam S. Smith.
Skeleton of Microcleidus. Lithograph from Owen (1865).
Skull of Microcleidus in lateral view. From Brown (1993).
Skull of 'Morturneria' = Aristonectes in lateral view. From Chaterjee and Small (1989).
Skull of 'Morturneria' = Aristonectes in ventral view. From Chaterjee and Small (1989).
Anterior cervical (neck) vertebra of Muraenosaurus in lateral and posterior view. From Andrews (1910).
Anterior caudal (tail) vertebrae of Muraenosaurus in various views. From Andrews (1910).
Limbs of Muraenosaurus in ventral views. A. hindlimb, B. forelimb From Andrews (1910).
Pectoral girdle of Muraenosaurus in doral and lateral view. From Andrews (1910).
Dorsal vertebra of Muraenosaurus in anterior view. From Andrews (1910).
Posterior cervical (neck) vertebra of Muraenosaurus in lateral and posterior view. From Andrews (1910).
Pectoral and pelvic girdles of Occitanosaurus in dorsal view. From Bardet et al. (1999).
Skull of Occitanosaurus in dorsal view. From Bardet et al. (1999).
Skull of Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus in lateral view. From Storrs (1996).
Skull of Plesiosaurus dolichodeirus in dorsal and ventral views. From Storrs (1996).
Skeleton of Pistosaurus in lateral view. From Carroll (1988).
Skull of Pistosaurus in dorsal view. From Rieppel (1988).
Skeleton of Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni in dorsal view. From Carte and Baily (1963).
Skull of Simolestes in dorsal and ventral view, a cervical vertebra in various views, and a tooth. From Andrews (1913).
Skull of Terminonatator in left lateral view. From Sato (2003).
Skull of Terminonatator in right lateral view. From Sato (2003).
Skull and neck of Thililua in right lateral view. From Bardet et. al. (2003).
Skull of Tricleidus in lateral view. From Brown (1981).

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  • Author
  • About
  • Publications
  • Artwork
  • Commission
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  • Directory
  • Genera
  • Classification
  • Anatomy
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  • Neck function
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The skeletons in the site header are (from left to right): Kronosaurus (in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge), Thalassomedon (in the American Museum of Natural History, New York), Cryptoclidus (In the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow), Rhomaleosaurus (in the Natural History Museum, London), Dolichorhynchops (in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Washington) and Thalassiodracon (in the Natural History Museum, London).

©2011 Copyright Adam S. Smith. This site opened in June 2001. Last updated April 2013.