Genus
Valid Extinct

Leptocleidus

Andrews 1922

Leptocleidus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur, belonging to the family Leptocleididae. It was a small plesiosaur, measuring only up to 3 m (9.8 ft) in length.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
7
Group
Sauroptérygiens
Carnivore aquatic, depth=surface Marine
Leptocleidus
click to enlarge
Life reconstruction of Leptocleidus capensis © Connor Ashbridge · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Sauropterygia Suborder
›
Plesiosauria Order
›
Plesiosauroidea Superfamily
›
Leptocleidia Unranked clade
›
Leptocleididae Family
›
Leptocleidus Genus
Fossil sites 7 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇦🇺 Australia
5
🇿🇦 South Africa
1
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
1
Geological formations
Murderong Shale
2
Sundays River
1
Weald Clay
1
Bulldog Shale
1
Temporal distribution
Albian (113.2–100.5 Ma)
1
Barremian (125.77–121.4 Ma)
3
Hauterivian (132.6–125.77 Ma)
1
Valanginian (137.05–132.6 Ma)
1
Berriasian (143.1–137.05 Ma)
1
Species (3)
Leptocleidus capensis 137 Ma
Leptocleidus clemai 126 Ma
Leptocleidus superstes 126 Ma
Synonyms (1)
Peyerus subjective synonym of Leptocleidus
Bibliography
Original description
C. W. Andrews. 1922. Description of a new plesiosaur from the Weald Clay of Berwick (Sussex). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 78:285-298 DOI ↗
Bibliography (7)
B. P. Kear. 2007. A juvenile pliosauroid plesiosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Lower Cretaceous of South Australia. Journal of Paleontology 81(1):154-162 DOI ↗
J. A. Long and A. R. I. Cruickshank. 1998. Further records of plesiosaurian reptiles of Jurassic and Cretaceous age from Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 19:47-55
A. R. I. Cruickshank and J. A. Long. 1997. A new species of pliosaurid reptile from the Early Cretaceous Birdrong Sandstone of Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 18:263-276
J. A. Long and A. R. I. Cruickshank. 1996. First record of an Early Cretaceous theropod dinosaur bone from Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 18:219-222
A. Bartholomai. 1966. The discovery of plesiosaurian remains in freshwater sediments in Queensland. The Australian Journal of Science 28(11):437
C. W. Andrews. 1922. Description of a new plesiosaur from the Weald Clay of Berwick (Sussex). Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 78:285-298 DOI ↗
C. W. Andrews. 1911. Description of a new plesiosaur (Plesiosaurus capensis, sp. nov.) from the Uitenhage Beds of Cape Colony. Annals of the South African Museum 7(4):309-322