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Styxosaurus browni

Reptilia - Plesiosauria - Elasmosauridae

Taxonomy
Styxosaurus browni was named by Welles (1952). Its type specimen is AMNH 5835, a partial skeleton (a laterally crushed skull, 75 vertebrae, ribs, the fragmented pectrum, one front limb, and numerous quartzite gastroliths of various sizes), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Mule Creek, 15 miles west of Edgemont, which is in a Campanian marine shale in the Pierre Shale Formation of Wyoming.

It was synonymized subjectively with Hydralmosaurus serpentinus by Storrs (1999) and Carpenter (1999).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1952Styxosaurus browni Welles
1962Styxosaurus browni Welles pp. 3 & 70 fig. 17
2016Styxosaurus browni Otero

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
RankNameAuthor
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
—Sauropsida
classReptilia
subclassEureptilia()
—Romeriida
—Diapsida()
suborderSauropterygia
orderPlesiosauriade Blainville 1835
superfamilyPlesiosauroideaWelles 1943
familyElasmosauridaeCope 1869
—Euelasmosaurida
—Elasmosaurinae
genusStyxosaurus
speciesbrowniWelles 1952

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

†Styxosaurus browni Welles 1952
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
R. A. Otero 2016AMNH 5835 has a jugal bar comparatively higher in its posterior margin, with a well-marked temporal ridge on its medial aspect, and its anterior part is dorsoventrally narrower just behind the orbit, as opposed to S. snowii (KUVP 1301), whose jugal bar is more squared and the temporal ridge is shallower. Preorbital boss is rounder and larger than that of S. snowii; dorsal contact of squamosals is not prominent with respect to the sagittal crest, as it occurs on S. snowii; height of the posterior process of the maxilla reaches the half of the jugal bar, while in S. snowii this is one third the height of the jugal bar.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteo
Environment: marineo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquatico
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: carnivoreo
Reproduction: viviparouso
Created: 2009-07-20 06:05:48
Modified: 2011-08-12 01:58:15
Source: o = order
Reference: Kiessling 2004

Age range: Early/Lower Campanian or 83.50000 to 70.60000 Ma

Collections (2 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Early/Lower Campanian83.5 - 70.6USA (Wyoming) Styxosaurus browni (type locality: 77348)
Early/Lower Campanian83.5 - 70.6USA (South Dakota) Styxosaurus browni (35333)