| Lorrainosaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic | |
|---|---|
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| Life reconstruction of Lorrainosaurus by Joschua Knüppe | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Sauropterygia |
| Order: | Plesiosauria |
| Family: | †Pliosauridae |
| Genus: | †Lorrainosaurus Sven Sachs, 2023 |
| Species: | †L. keileni |
| Type species | |
| †Lorrainosaurus keileni Sachs, 2023 | |
Lorrainosaurus is an extinct genus of marine pliosaur that once existed in Middle Jurassic France close to 168 million years ago. The animal is quite small for its clade, but was among the largest animals in its ecosystem. The type and only species of the genus is L. keileni.
Discovery, Naming, and Classification[]
Lorrainosaurus was discovered accidentally during excavation for roadwork in northeastern France, revealing the holotype specimen of a mostly complete lower mandible, part of the left shoulder, fragments of the upper mandible, a fragment of the forelimb, and a single tooth. Later in 1994, palaeontologist Pascal Godefroit formally described the specimen as a new species of Simolestes. Only in 2023 was this decision refuted and the animal was formally described as a new genus. The genus was placed in Pliosauridae, in a more derived branch than Simolestes.
The new generic name "Lorrianosaurus" was a combination of the location the specimen was found, "Lorraine", and "saurus" (meaning "reptile") created by Sven Sachs.
Description[]
A reconstructed head of Lorrainosaurus in Ben Thuy/Musée national d'histoire naturelle de Luxembourg
The holotype specimen was rather small compared to other close members of its family, which was calculated with its 4 foot lower jaw (1.3 m), comparing the proportions to closely related genera such as Stenorhynchosaurus. This put the animal at close to 15 feet, or 4.5 meters, in length. L. keileni otherwise matched in proportions and overall morphology with other derived pliosaurids, with a very large head, a blunt tail, and 4 large wide flippers.