Genus
Valid Extinct

Colymbosaurus

Seeley 1874

Colymbosaurus is a genus of cryptoclidid plesiosaur from the Middle-Late Jurassic (Callovian-Tithonian) of the UK and Svalbard, Norway. There are two currently recognized species, C. megadeirus and C. svalbardensis.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
18
Group
Sauroptérygiens
Carnivore aquatic, depth=surface Marine
Colymbosaurus
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Fossil in the Oxford University natural history museum © the paleobear from Lontananza, Loreto, Peru · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Sauropterygia Suborder
›
Plesiosauria Order
›
Plesiosauroidea Superfamily
›
Cryptoclididae Family
›
Colymbosaurus Genus
Fossil sites 18 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
13
🇳🇴 Norway
3
🇷🇺 Russia
1
🇫🇷 France
1
Geological formations
Kimmeridge Clay
7
Portland Stone
3
Agardhfjellet
3
Lealt Shale
1
Oxford Clay
1
Mont-Lambert
1
Faringdon Sand
1
Temporal distribution
Aptian (121.4–113.2 Ma)
1
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
9
Kimmeridgian (154.8–149.2 Ma)
6
Callovian (165.3–161.5 Ma)
1
Bathonian (168.2–165.3 Ma)
1
Species (9)
Cimoliosaurus biangulatus subjective synonym of Colymbosaurus trochanterius 168 Ma
Cimoliosaurus triangulatus subjective synonym of Colymbosaurus trochanterius 168 Ma
Colymbosaurus megadeirus subjective synonym of Colymbosaurus trochanterius 168 Ma
Colymbosaurus sclerodirus 162 Ma
Colymbosaurus svalbardensis 149 Ma
Colymbosaurus trochanterius 168 Ma
Plesiosaurus biangulatus subjective synonym of Colymbosaurus trochanterius 168 Ma
Plesiosaurus manselii subjective synonym of Colymbosaurus trochanterius 168 Ma
Pliosaurus portlandicus subjective synonym of Colymbosaurus trochanterius 168 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
H. G. Seeley. 1874. Note on some generic modifications of the plesiosaurian pectoral arch. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 30:436-449 DOI ↗
Bibliography (14)
E. M. Knutsen, P. S. Druckenmiller, and J. Hurum. 2012. Redescription and taxonomic clarification of ‘Tricleidus’ svalbardensis based on new material from the Agardhfjellet Formation (Middle Volgian). Norwegian Journal of Geology 92:175-186
M. J. Benton and P. S. Spencer. 1995. Fossil Reptiles of Great Britain. Chapman & Hall, London DOI ↗
J. B. Delair. 1993. Reptilia from the Portland Stone (Upper Jurassic) of England: a preliminary survey of the material and the literature. Modern Geology 18:331-348
D. S. Brown. 1984. Discovery of a specimen of the plesiosaur Colymbosaurus trochanterius (Owen) on the Island of Portland. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 105:170
D. S. Brown. 1981. The English Upper Jurassic Plesiosauroidea (Reptilia) and a review of the phylogeny and classification of the Plesiosauria. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 35(4):253-347
R. L. Paton. 1975. A Catalogue of Fossil Vertebrates in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. Part Four / Amphibia & Reptilia. Royal Scottish Museum Information Series. Geology 5
P. O. Persson. 1963. A revision of the classification of the Plesiosauria, with a synopsis of the stratigraphical and geographical distribution of the group. Lunds Universitets Arsskrift N. F. Serie 2 59(1):1-57
J. B. Delair. 1960. The Mesozoic reptiles of Dorset. Part two. Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society 80:52-90
H.-E. Sauvage. 1888. Sur les Reptiles trouvés dans le Portlandien supérieur de Boulogne-sur-Mer [On the reptiles found in the upper Portlandian of Boulogne-sur-Mer]. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 3e série 16:623-632
J. Phillips. 1871. Geology of Oxford and the Valley of the Thames. Clarendon Press, Oxford DOI ↗
J. W. Hulke. 1870. Note on some plesiosaurian remains obtained by JC Mansel, Esq, FGS, in Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 26:611-622 DOI ↗
R. Owen. 1869. Monographs on the British Fossil Reptilia from the Kimmeridge Clay III: contains Pliosaurus grandis, Pliosaurus trochanterius, and Pliosaurus portlandicus. Palaeontographical Society Monographs 22(98):1-12
H. G. Seeley. 1869. Index to the Fossil Remains of Aves, Ornithosauria, and Reptilia, from the Secondary System of Strata, Arranged in the Woodwardian Museum of the University of Cambridge. Deighton, Bell, and Co, Cambridge DOI ↗
R. Owen. 1840. Report on British fossil reptiles. Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 8:43-126