DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11706108
title: Plesiosaur Silhouettes for Mass Estimation

description: Silhouettes used for mass estimation via the paleomass R package (Motani, 2023)

Paleomass

Motani R. 2023. Paleomass for R—bracketing body volume of marine vertebrates with 3D models. PeerJ 11:e15957 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15957

 

References used for generating these silhouettes

Thalassomedon & Dolichorhynchops:

Carpenter, K., & Sanders, F. (2010). Plesiosaur swimming as interpreted from skeletal analysis and experimental results. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, 113(1/2), 1. https://doi.org/10.1660/062.113.0201 

Albertonectes:

Henderson, D. (2022, August 18). Albertonectes. The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/albertonectes 

Muraenosaurus:

Noè, L., Taylor, M., & Gómez-Pérez, M. (2017). An integrated approach to understanding the role of the long neck in plesiosaurs. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 62. https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00334.2016 

Tatenectes:

O’Keefe, F. R., Street, H. P., Wilhelm, B. C., Richards, C. D., & Zhu, H. (2011). A new skeleton of the cryptoclidid plesiosaur tatenectes laramiensis reveals a novel body shape among plesiosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 31(2), 330–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2011.550365

Styxosaurus:

Otero, R. A. (2016). Taxonomic reassessment of hydralmosaurus as styxosaurus: New insights on the elasmosaurid neck evolution throughout the cretaceous. PeerJ, 4. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1777 

Aristonectes:

Otero, R. A., Soto-Acuña, S., & O’Keefe, F. R. (2018). Osteology of aristonectes quiriquinensis (Elasmosauridae, Aristonectinae) from the Upper Maastrichtian of Central Chile. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 38(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2017.1408638 

Ophthalmothule:

Roberts, A. J., Druckenmiller, P. S., Cordonnier, B., Delsett, L. L., & Hurum, J. H. (2020). A new plesiosaurian from the jurassic–cretaceous transitional interval of the slottsmøya member (Volgian), with insights into the cranial anatomy of cryptoclidids using computed tomography. PeerJ, 8. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8652

Hydrotherosaurus: 

Sachs, S. (2004). Redescription of Woolungasaurus glendowerensis (Plesiosauria: Elasmosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of northeast Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 49(2), 713–731.

Brancasaurus:

Sachs, S., Hornung, J. J., & Kear, B. P. (2016). Reappraisal of Europe’s most complete Early Cretaceous plesiosaurian:brancasaurus brancai wegner, 1914 from the “wealden facies” of Germany. PeerJ, 4. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2813

Cryptocleidus: 

Sennikov, A. G. (2019). Peculiarities of the structure and locomotor function of the tail in Sauropterygia. Biology Bulletin, 46(7), 751–762. https://doi.org/10.1134/s1062359019070100

Rhomaleosaurus: 

Smith, A. S., & Benson, R. B. J. (2014). Osteology of rhomaleosaurus thorntoni (sauropterygia: Rhomaleosauridae) from the lower jurassic (Toarcian) of Northamptonshire, England. Monographs of the Palaeontographical Society, 168(642), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/02693445.2014.11963953

Meyerasaurus:

Smith, A. S., & Vincent, P. (2010). A new genus of Pliosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the lower jurassic of Holzmaden, Germany. Palaeontology, 53(5), 1049–1063. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00975.x

Lindwurmia: 

Vincent, P., & Storrs, G. W. (2019). Lindwurmia, a new genus of plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the earliest jurassic of Halberstadt, Northwest Germany. The Science of Nature, 106(1–2). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-018-1600-y 

 

NOTE TO THOSE WHO MAY USE THESE SILHOUETTES FOR MASS ESTIMATION

1. Tail fins and webbed membranous features were ignored (such as those connecting the base of the fin to the body)

2. Lindwurmia, Meyerasaurus, Hydrotherosaurus, Opthalmothule, Muraenosaurus, Thalassomedon and Dolichorhynchops are based only on skeletal outlines and body silhouettes were traced by connecting the distal-most points of adjacent exterior-most ribs to one another, and the distal-most points of spinous/transverse processes. For taxa with only the lateral-view skeletal outline, gastralia are absent in Lindwurmia and Hydrotherosaurus, but present in the rest. 

3. Lindwurmia, Meyerasaurus, Hydrotherosaurus, Opthalmothule, Muraenosaurus, Thalassomedon, Albertonectes, Aristonectes, Cryptocleidus, Styxosaurus and Dolichorhynchops have either the lateral or ventral outlines representing both the lateral and ventral outlines.