| Marmornectes | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Suborder: | †Pliosauroidea |
| Family: | †Pliosauridae |
| Genus: | †Marmornectes Ketchum & Benson,2011 |
| Species: | †M. candrewi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Marmornectes candrewi Ketchum & Benson, 2011 | |
Marmornectes is agenus ofpliosaurid known from the MiddleJurassic ofBedfordshire,United Kingdom.[1]
Marmornectes was first named by Hilary F. Ketchum and Roger B. J. Benson in2011 and thetype species isMarmornectes candrewi. Thegeneric name is derived frommarmor,Latin for "marble", andnectes,Greek for "swimmer", thus the meaning is "marble-swimmer". Thespecific name honors Chris Andrew for finding the only known specimen and donating it toBedford Museum in 1998.[1]
Marmornectes is known from theholotypeBEDFM 1999.201, an articulated partialskeleton which includes theskull. It was collected in 1999 from theSigaloceras enodatum ammonoid subzone of thePeterborough Member,Oxford Clay Formation, which dates to the earlyCallovian stage of the lateMiddle Jurassic, about 164.7-163.5million years ago. It was found in the monotypic locality of Quest Pit, east of Stewartby.[1]
It was a longirostrine pliosaurid with sevenautapomorphies, and is most similar toPeloneustes philarchus. Nevertheless, acladistic analysis found it to be basal toPeloneustes and other pliosaurids. An undescribed pliosaurid,NHMUK R2439, was found to be the sister taxon of this genus.[1]
The followingcladogram follows Ketchum and Benson, 2022.[2]
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