After O'Keefe, 2001, and Benson, Evans & Druckenmiller, 2012
<==o †Rhomaleosauridae Nopcsa, 1928 [Thaumatosauridae, incl. Leptocleidinae] |-- †Stratesaurus taylori Benson, Evans & Druckenmiller, 2012 `--+-- †Macroplata tenuiceps Swinton 1930 sensu Benson, Evans & Druckenmiller, 2012 [has been treated as a pliosaurid (O'Keefe, 2001)] `--+-- †Avalonnectes arturi Benson, Evans & Druckenmiller, 2012 `--+-- †Eurycleidus arcuatus (Owen, 1848) Andrews, 1922 `--+-- †Meyerasaurus victor (Fraas, 1910) Smith & Vincent, 2010 [Plesiosaurus victor Fraas, 1910; Thaumatosaurus victor Fraas 1910; Rhomaleosaurus victor (Fraas 1910) O'Keefe, 2001] `--+-- †Maresaurus coccai Gasparini, 1997 `--+-- †“Rhomaleosaurus” megacephalus (Stutchbury, 1846) Cruickshank, 1994 `--+-- †Archaeonectrus rostratus (Owen, 1865) Novozhilov, 1964 [Plesiosaurus rostratus Owen, 1865] `--+-- †Rhomaleosaurus propinquus (Tate & Blake, 1876) Vincent & Smith, 2009 [Plesiosaurus propinquus Tate & Blake, 1876; Thaumatosaurus propinquus (Tate & Blake, 1876) von Meyer, 1841; Rhomaleosaurus propinquus (Tate & Blake, 1876) Vincent & Smith, 2009] `--+-- †“Rhomaleosaurus” zetlandicus (Phillips, 1854) Seeley, 1874 [incl.? R. cramptoni (Carte & Bailey, 1863) [Plesiosaurus cramptoni Carte & Bailey, 1863]; R. thorntoni Andrews, 1922] `--+--o †Simolestes Andrews, 1909 | |?- †S. keileni Godefroit, 1994 | |-- †S. vorax Andrews, 1909 | `-- †S. indicus (Lydekker, 1877) Bardet, Maxin, Gariou, Enay & Krishna, 1991 [Plesiosaurus indicus Lydekker, 1877] `--o †Leptocleidus Andrews, 1922 [Peyerus Stromer, 1935] [Leptocleidinae] |-- †L. superstes Andrews, 1922 |-- †L. capensis (Andrews, 1911) Andrews, 1922 [Plesiosaurus capensis Andrews, 1911; Peyerus capensis (Andrews, 1911) Stromer, 1935] |-- †L. clemai Cruickshank & Long, 1997 `-- †L. sp. [South Australia, “Eric”]
Rhomaleosauridae incertae sedis:
†“Elasmosaurus”
†“Megalosaurus”
†“Plesiosaurus”
†“Pliosaurus”
†Bishanopliosaurus youngi
†Umoonasaurus demoscyllus Kear, Schroeder & Lee, 2006
†Uronautes cetiformis Cope 1876
†Eridanosaurus brambillae Balsamo-Crivelli, 1864 (nomen dubium)
†Tapinosaurus Lennier, 1887 (nomen nudum, no species defined?)
†Stereosaurus Seeley, 1869 (nomen nudum)
†S. platyomus Seeley, 1869 (nomen nudum)
†S. cratynotus Seeley, 1869 (nomen nudum)
†S. stenomus Seeley, 1869 (nomen nudum)
†“Taphrosaurus” lockwoodi (Cope, 1869) Cope, 1870 [Plesiosaurus lockwoodii Cope, 1869] (nomen vanum)
†Yuzhoupliosaurus chengjiangensis Zhang, 1985
†Hexatarostinus
After Smith & Dyke, 2008
<==o †Rhomaleosauridae
|-- †Archaeonectrus
|--+-- †Macroplata
| `--+-- WARWKS G10875
| `--+-- †Eurycleidus
| `--+-- NMING F8749
| |-- NMING F10194
| `-- †“Rhomaleosaurus” megacephalus
`--+-- †Sthenarosaurus
`--+-- †Meyerasaurus victor
`--+-- †Maresaurus
`--o †Rhomaleosaurus s.s.
|-- †R. propinquus
|-- †R. zetlandicus
`--+-- †R. thorntoni
`-- †R. cramptoni
|
After Kear, Schroeder & Lee, 2006<==o †Pliosauroidea |-- †Thalassiodracon `--+-- †Eurycleidus `--+-- †Attenborosaurus `--+-- †Pliosauridae `--o †Rhomaleosauridae |-- †Umoonasaurus `--+--+-- †“Rhomaleosaurus” megacephalus | `-- †“Rhomaleosaurus” victor [Meyerasaurus] `--+-- †Macroplata `--+-- †Rhomaleosaurus zetlandicus `--+-- †Simolestes `-- †Leptocleidus |
Reference(s):
- Benson, R. B. J., Evans, M. & Druckenmiller, P. S., 2012: High Diversity, Low Disparity and Small Body Size in Plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic–Jurassic Boundary.
–Plos One: Vol. 7, #3, pp. e31838 [doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031838] - Carroll, R. L., 1988: Vertebrate paleontology and evolution.
–W. H. Freeman and company, New York, 1988, 698. - Carroll, R. L., 1988: Appendix. 594-648.
in Carroll, R. L. 1988: Vertebrate paleontology and evolution.
–W. H. Freeman and company, New York, 1988, 698 - Creisler, B., 1998: Giant pliosaurs - real and imaginary.
–iNet: www.Dinosauria.com: Dino-Dispatches: No. 1, 16 November. 1998 - Creisler, B., 1999-2001: Plesiosauria translation and pronunciation guide.
–iNet: Dinosauria.com: http://www.dinosauria.com/dml/names/ples.html - Kazlev, M. A., 1999: The Rhomaleosaurs.
–iNet: http://www.kheper.auz.com/gaia/biosphere/vertebrates/sauropterygia/Rhomaleosaurs.html - Kazlev, M. A., 1999: Subfamily Leptocleidinae.
–iNet: http://www.kheper.auz.com/gaia/biosphere/vertebrates/sauropterygia/Leptocleidinae.html - Kear, B. P., Schroeder, N. I. & Lee, M. S. Y., 2006: An archaic crested plesiosaur in opal from the Lower Cretaceous high-latitude deposits of Australia.
–Biology Letters: Vol. 2, #4, pp. 615-619 [doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0504] - O'Keefe, F. R., 2001: A cladistic analysis and taxonomic revision of the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia).
–Acta Zoologica Fennica: Vol. #213, pp. 1-63 - O'Keefe, F. R., 2002: The evolution of plesiosaur and pliosaur morphotypes in the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia).
–Paleobiology: Vol. 28, #1, pp. 101-112 - Smith, A. & Dyke, G., 2008: The skull of the giant predatory pliosaur Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni: implications for plesiosaur phylogenetics.
–Naturwissenschaften: Vol. 95, #10, pp. 975-980 [doi: 10.1007/s00114-008-0402-z] - Vincent, P. & Smith, A. S., 2009: A redescription of Plesiosaurus propinquus Tate & Blake, 1876 (Reptilia, Plesiosauria), from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Yorkshire, England.
–Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society: Vol. 57, #3-4, pp. 133-142 [doi: 10.1144/pygs.57.3-4.133]