page_title: Pliosauroidea
section_title: Taxonomy
hierarchical_section_title: Pliosauroidea / Classification / Taxonomy
caption_attribution_description: Simolestes vorax
context_page_description: Pliosauroidea is an extinct clade of marine reptiles. Pliosauroids, also commonly known as pliosaurs, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The pliosauroids were crocodile-like short-necked plesiosaurs with large heads and massive toothed jaws. They were sauropterygian swimming reptiles, and were not dinosaurs. They originally included only members of the family Pliosauridae, of the order Plesiosauria, but several other genera and families are now also included, the number and details of which vary according to the classification used.
  The distinguishing characteristics are a short neck and an elongated head, with larger hind flippers compared to the fore flippers, the opposite of the plesiosaurs. They were carnivorous and their long and powerful jaws carried many sharp, conical teeth. Pliosaurs range from 4 to 15 metres and more in length. Their prey may have included fish, sharks, ichthyosaurs, dinosaurs and other plesiosaurs.
  The largest known species are Kronosaurus and Pliosaurus macromerus; other well known genera include Rhomaleosaurus, Peloneustes, and Macroplata.
context_section_description: The taxonomy presented here is mainly based on the plesiosaur cladistic analysis proposed by Hilary F. Ketchum and Roger B. J. Benson, 2011 unless otherwise noted.
  Suborder Pliosauroidea
  ? Sinopliosaurus
  Family Rhomaleosauridae
  Archaeonectrus
  Borealonectes
  ? Bishanopliosaurus
  Eurycleidus
  Macroplata
  Maresaurus
  Rhomaleosaurus
  Meyerasaurus
  Sthenarosaurus
  ? Yuzhoupliosaurus
  Family Pliosauridae
  Anguanax
  Attenborosaurus
  Gallardosaurus
  Hauffiosaurus
  Marmornectes
  Megalneusaurus
  Liopleurodon
  Pachycostasaurus
  Peloneustes
  Pliosaurus
  Rhaeticosaurus
  Simolestes
  Thalassiodracon
  Subfamily Brachaucheninae
  Brachauchenius
  Kronosaurus
  Makhaira
  Megacephalosaurus
  Polyptychodon
  Sachicasaurus
  Stenorhynchosaurus
  Luskhan
caption: Simolestes vorax
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