Elasmosauridae, Vakil & Webb & Cook, 2021

Vakil, Vikram, Webb, Gregory & Cook, Alex, 2021, Taxonomic utility of Early Cretaceous Australian plesiosaurian vertebrae, Palaeontologia Electronica (a 30) 24 (3), pp. 1-44 : 13

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.26879/1095

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039687B5-D65A-FFA0-1C9F-2994485BF96B

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Elasmosauridae
status

 

Elasmosauridae gen. et sp. indet. (QM L39)

Figure 9 View FIGURE 9

Material. Partial postcranial material; six isolated cervical vertebrae, free of matrix.

Locality. Near Bore Drain on ‘Lydia Downs’ Station, north of Nelia at Julia Creek.

Stratigraphic horizon. Toolebuc Formation (late Albian).

Description. Cervical vertebrae (two anterior, four posterior) occur with distinct foramina subcentralia ( Figure 9C, F View FIGURE 9 ), parts of neural arches and neural canal ( Figure 9B, D View FIGURE 9 ), lateral ridges and dumbbell-shaped articular facets ( Figure 9A View FIGURE 9 ) (CW = 81 – 122.85 mm; CL = 74.9 – 90.5 mm; CH = 67 – 87.6

mm). The change in position of rib facets from being borne almost ventrally on the centrum ( Figure 9A View FIGURE 9 ) to ventro-laterally on the centrum ( Figure 9E View FIGURE 9 ) indicates the transition from anterior to posterior cervicals. Parts of the neural spines are retained ( Figure 9A, B, D, E View FIGURE 9 ), but they are not complete in their dorsal extremity.

Remarks. The original sequence of vertebrae is lost; the current sequence is based on the size and shape of the vertebrae. Vertebrae show elasmosaur characteristics (e.g., lateral ridges and dumbbell-shaped articular facets, obscured by slight distortion) (Otero et al., 2014; Sachs and Kear, 2017). Based on the osteological immaturity of the vertebrae with open neurocentral sutures, the specimen appears to be a subadult-adult.

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