Family
Valid Extinct

Pistosauridae

Zittel 1887

Pistosaurus is an extinct genus of aquatic sauropterygian reptile closely related to plesiosaurs. Fossils have been found in France and Germany, and date to the Middle Triassic. It contains a single species, Pistosaurus longaevus. Pistosaurus is known as the oldest "subaquatic flying" reptile on earth.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Sauroptérygiens
Marine
Pistosauridae
click to enlarge
Skull of Pistosaurus longaevus (cast - USNM 16107) in right, left and posterior views. © Carpenter, Kenneth · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Sauropterygia Suborder
›
Pistosauria Unranked clade
›
Pistosauridae Family
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇸🇯 SJ
2
Geological formations
De Geerdalen
1
Tschermakfjellet
1
Temporal distribution
Carnian (237–227.3 Ma)
2
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
F. R. O'Keefe. 2001. A cladistic analysis and taxonomic revision of the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia). Acta Zoologica Fennica 213:1-63
Bibliography (1)
B. P. Kear and E. E. Maxwell. 2013. Wiman's forgotten plesiosaurs: the earliest recorded sauropterygian fossils from the High Arctic. GFF (Geologiska Foreningen) DOI ↗