| Gallardosaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal diagram showing known material | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pliosauroidea |
| Family: | †Pliosauridae |
| Clade: | †Thalassophonea |
| Genus: | †Gallardosaurus Gasparini, 2009 |
| Type species | |
| †Gallardosaurus iturraldei Gasparini, 2009 | |
Gallardosaurus is agenus ofpliosauridplesiosaur from theCaribbean seaway. It contains the single speciesGallardosaurus iturraldei.Gallardosaurus was found in middle-lateOxfordian-age (Late Jurassic) rocks of theJagua Formation of westernCuba.[1][2]Gallardosaurus is believed to be evolutionarily connected toPeloneustes, a pliosaurid commonly found in the Oxfordian-aged sediment.[2]
Oxfordian-age reptiles have been found in Cuba since the first half of the 20th century, but most have not received wide recognition because publications were not widely disseminated. In 1996, Dr.Manuel Iturralde-Vinent and Mark Norell initially mentioned specimenMNHNCu P3005, a partial skull and mandible with a fewcervicalvertebrae, as resembling that of the speciesPliosaurus ferox. The specimen had been discovered in 1946 by Cuban farmer Juan Gallardo about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east ofViñales,Pinar del Río, northwestern Cuba.[2] However, it was not prepared when Iturralde-Vinent and Norell saw it and a full description was not made.[2] After preparation, Zulma Gasparini and Iturralde-Vinent assigned the specimen to the genusPeloneustes in 2006, but it was later determined that the specimen was that of a new genus. In 2009, MNHNCu P3005 was described as a separate genus,Gallardosaurus.[2]
The generic name is derived from the specimen MNHNCu P3005's discoverer, Juan Gallardo, who together with Juanito Gallardo is credited with discovering most of the Oxfordian reptiles in Cuba. The species nameG. itturraldei is derived from the name of the geotectonist and paleontologist Dr. Manuel Iturralde Vinent.[2]
MNHNCu P3005 was found in aconcretion in darkshale, within the Jagua Vieja Member of the Jagua Formation. It is preserved three-dimensionally with slight deformation. The tip of the snout and theposterior ends of the lower jaw are absent. The skull was broad and not tall, with long pointed teeth. The lack of fusion in some of the vertebrae suggests the individual was not fully grown when it died.[2]
Gallardosaurus was a pliosaurid, a member of the familyPliosauridae, a group of short-necked reptiles that lived during theMesozoic Era. Other members of the group includeHauffiosaurus,Kronosaurus,Peloneustes,Liopleurodon,Brachauchenius, andPliosaurus.[2]
G. iturraldei would probably have seasonally migrated across the Caribbean Seaway, and would have preyed mostly onnectonic fish that dwelt in the region in which it existed. Also known from the Jagua Vieja Member areichthyosaurs, the marine turtleNotoemys oxfordiensis, and the plesiosauroidVinialesaurus caroli. The water depth was shallow, perhaps 10 to 12 metres (33 to 39 ft) deep, and oysters and algae colonized the sea bottom. Fragmentary remains of plants,pterosaurs, anddinosaurs arrived from nearby coastal areas.[2]
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