Suborder
Valid Extinct

Pistosauroidea

(Baur 1887)

Pistosauroidea is a group of marine reptiles within the superorder Sauropterygia that first appeared in the latter part of the Early Triassic and were the ancestors of plesiosaurs. Pistosauroids are rare in Triassic marine assemblages, and are represented by only a few fossils from central Europe, the United States, and China. Recent phylogenetic analyses consider the Triassic pistosauroids to be a paraphyletic grouping, meaning that they do not form a true clade. Plesiosauria is now placed within Pistosauroidea, while the traditional pistosauroids are successively more basal, or primitive, sauropterygians.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
24
Group
Sauroptérygiens
Marine
Pistosauroidea
click to enlarge
Augustasaurus hagdorni, a pistosaur from the Middle Triassic of nevada. Digital. © Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Sauropterygia Suborder
›
Eosauropterygia Order
›
Pistosauroidea Suborder
Fossil sites 24 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
8
🇵🇱 Poland
8
🇩🇪 Germany
5
🇦🇹 Austria
1
🇫🇷 France
1
🇳🇱 Netherlands
1
Geological formations
Falang
5
Gogolin
4
Röt
4
Wellenkalk
4
Beisi
1
Jena
1
Vossenveld
1
Zhuganpo
1
Temporal distribution
Ladinian (241.464–237 Ma)
6
Anisian (246.7–241.464 Ma)
17
Olenekian (249.9–246.7 Ma)
1
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
Y.-N. Cheng, T. Sato, and X.-C. Wu, C. Li. 2006. First complete pistosauroid from the Triassic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(2):501-504 DOI ↗
Bibliography (15)
H. Lu, D.-Y. Jiang, and R. Motani, P.-G. Ni, Z.-Y. Sun, A. Tintori, S.-Z. Xiao, M. Zhou, C. Ji, W.-F. Fu. 2018. Middle Triassic Xingyi Fauna: Showing turnover of marine reptiles from coastal to oceanic environments. Palaeoworld 27(1):107-116 DOI ↗
D. Surmik. 2016. Hemilopas mentzeli, an enigmatic marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of Poland revisited. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie-Abhandlungen 282(2):209-223 DOI ↗
L.-T. Ma, D.-Y. Jiang, and O. Rieppel, R. Motani, A. Tintori. 2015. A new pistosauroid (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the late Ladinian Xingyi marine reptile level, southwestern China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35(1):e881832 DOI ↗
M. W. Maisch. 2014. A well preserved skull of Cymatosaurus (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the uppermost Buntsandstein (Middle Triassic) of Germany. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie-Abhandlungen 272(2):213-224 DOI ↗
P. M. Sander, N. Klein, and P. C. H. Albers, C. Bickelmann, H. Winkelhorst. 2014. Postcranial morphology of a basal Pistosauroidea (Sauropterygia) from the Lower Muschelkalk of Winterswijk, The Netherlands. Palaeontologische Zeitschrift 88:55-71 DOI ↗
T. Sato, L.-J. Zhao, and X.-C. Wu, C. Li. 2014. A new specimen of the Triassic pistosauroid Yunguisaurus, with implications for the origins of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia). Palaeontology 57(1):55-76
T. Sato, L. -J. Zhao, and X. -C. Wu, C. Li. 2013. A new specimen of the Triassic pistosauroid Yunguisaurus, with implications for the origin of Plesiosauria (Reptilia, Sauropterygia). Palaeontology DOI ↗
Y.-N. Cheng, T. Sato, and X.-C. Wu, C. Li. 2006. First complete pistosauroid from the Triassic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(2):501-504 DOI ↗
O. Rieppel. 1999. The sauropterygian genera Chinchenia, Kwangsisaurus, and Sanchiaosaurus from the Lower and Middle Triassic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(2):321-337 DOI ↗
O. Rieppel. 1999. Variation of cranial characters in Cymatosaurus 'gracilis' Schrammen 1899 (Reptilia, Sauropterygia), and its implications for systematics. Palaeontologische Zeitschrift 73(3/4):369-375 DOI ↗
O. Rieppel and R. Wernburg. 1998. A new species of the sauropterygian Cymatosaurus from the Lower Muschelkalk of Thuringia, Germany. Palaeontology 41(4):575-589
O. Rieppel. 1997. Revision of the sauropterygian reptile genus Cymatosaurus v. Fritsch, 1894, and the relationships of Germanosaurus Nopcsa, 1928, from the Middle Triassic of Europe. Fieldiana: Geology, new series 36:1-36 DOI ↗
O. Rieppel. 1994. Osteology of Simosaurus gaillardoti and the relationships of stem-group Sauropterygia. Fieldiana: Geology, new series 28:1-85 DOI ↗
G. Corroy. 1934. Les poissons et les reptiles du Muschelkalk et du Rhetien de Basse-Provence. Bulletin de la Societe geologique de France 3, serie 5(5-6):475-483
G. Gürich. 1884. Ueber einige Saurier des obershlesischen Muschelkalkes [On some saurians from the Upper Silesian Muschelkalk]. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft 36:125-144