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Microcleidus melusinae, a new plesiosaurian (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Toarcian of Luxembourg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2017

PEGGY VINCENT ,
ROBERT WEIS ,
GUY KRONZ  and
DOMINIQUE DELSATE
PEGGY VINCENT*
Affiliation:
CR2P, CNRS-MNHN-UPMC, Département Histoire de la Terre, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, CP 38, 57 rue Cuvier, F-75005, Paris, France
ROBERT WEIS
Affiliation:
Musée national d'histoire naturelle, Centre de recherche scientifique, Section Paléontologie, 25 rue Münster, L-2160 Luxembourg, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
GUY KRONZ
Affiliation:
Musée national d'histoire naturelle, Centre de recherche scientifique, Section Paléontologie, 25 rue Münster, L-2160 Luxembourg, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
DOMINIQUE DELSATE
Affiliation:
Musée national d'histoire naturelle, Centre de recherche scientifique, Section Paléontologie, 25 rue Münster, L-2160 Luxembourg, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

Most of the known and most-complete Early Jurassic specimens of plesiosaurians were recovered from the United Kingdom and Germany, and few specimens from that age originate from other areas in Europe. This study describes a new plesiosaurian taxon from Toarcian deposits of Luxembourg, Microcleidus melusinae, represented by the most complete skeleton ever discovered from this country. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis places Microcleidus melusinae within Microcleididae, as a sister taxon of the species previously included in the genus Microcleidus. The new specimen studied here contributes to our understanding of the palaeodiversity of Early Jurassic plesiosaurians and confirms their high degree of ‘endemism’ and low morphological disparity.

Keywords

JurassicLuxembourgMicrocleidusMicrocleididaePlesiosauriaToarcian
Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 156 , Issue 1 , January 2019 , pp. 99 - 116
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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