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Polycotylus latipinnis

Reptilia - Plesiosauria - Polycotylidae

Taxonomy
Polycotylus latipinnis was named by Cope (1869). Its type specimen is USNM 27678/AMNH 1735, a set of postcrania (vertebrae, ilium, and metapodials (USNM) plus phalanges (AMNH)), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is 8 km east of Fort Wallace, which is in a Santonian marine limestone in the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. It is the type species of Polycotylus.

It was considered a nomen vanum by Welles (1962).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1869Polycotylus latipinnis Cope p. 34
1873Polycotylus latipinnis Leidy p. 279
1902Polycotylus latipinnis Hay p. 457
1903Polycotylus latipinnis Williston p. 10
1906Polycotylus latipinnis Williston p. 233
1906Polycotylus dolichopus Williston p. 235
1908Polycotylus dolichopus Williston p. 735
1908Polycotylus latipinnis Williston p. 735
1930Polycotylus dolichopus Hay p. 116
1930Polycotylus latipinnis Hay p. 116
1996Polycotylus latipinnis Carpenter p. 267 figs. 3-5
1997Polycotylus dolichopus Adams p. 182
1997Polycotylus latipinnis Adams p. 182
1999Polycotylus latipinnis Storrs p. 11
2001Polycotylus latipinnis O'Keefe p. 17
2004Polycotylus latipinnis O'Keefe p. 336 figs. FIg. 11
2011Polycotylus latippinus O'Keefe and Chiappe p. 870 figs. 1-2
2016Polycotylus latipinnis Schumacher and Martin

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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
familyPolycotylidaeWilliston 1908
subfamilyPolycotylinae
genusPolycotylus
specieslatipinnis

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.

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Invalid names: Polycotylus dolichopus Williston 1906 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
K. Carpenter 1996Teeth robust, with coarse striae that extend almost to tips, unlike Dolichorhynchops osborni teeth which are slender, with fine striae that are confined to the lower two-thirds of the crown; 55 presacral vertebrae (26 cervicals, 3 pectorals, and 25 dorsals) compared with 46 (19 cervicals, pectorals and 23-24 dorsals) in D. osborni; chevrons borne equally by adjacent caudals, but only by one in D. osborni; coracoid with long posterior extension unlike D. osborni; ilium posteriorly curved, as opposed to straight in D. osborni and T. bentonianum.
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: base of the Late/Upper Santonian to the top of the Middle Campanian or 85.80000 to 70.60000 Ma

Collections (7 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Coniacian - Santonian89.3 - 83.6USA (Kansas) Polycotylus dolichopus (118879) Polycotylus latipinnis (117847)
Santonian86.3 - 83.6USA (Kansas) Polycotylus latipinnis (type locality: 117846 118183)
Late/Upper Santonian85.8 - 83.5USA (South Dakota) Polycotylus latipinnis (194130)
Late/Upper Santonian - Early/Lower Campanian85.8 - 70.6USA (Alabama) Polycotylus latipinnis (81934)
Early/Lower Campanian - Middle Campanian83.5 - 70.6USA (Kansas) Polycotylus latippinus (114240)