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Polycotylidae

 

 
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Polycotylidae
 
 
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Polycotylidae is a family of plesiosaur
Plesiosaur

Plesiosaurs were carnivore aquatic reptiles. After their discovery, they were somewhat fancifully said to have resembled , although they had no shell....
s from the Cretaceous
Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide, is a geologic period from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period....
, a sister group to the elasmosauridae
Elasmosauridae

Elasmosauridae was the family of plesiosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and survived from the Early Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous....
.

With their short necks and large elongated heads, they resemble the pliosaur
Pliosaur

The Pliosaurs were Marine reptiles from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Period . They originally included 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....
s, but closer phylogenetical studies indicate that they share many common features with the plesiosauridae and elasmosauridae
Elasmosauridae

Elasmosauridae was the family of plesiosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and survived from the Early Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous....
. They have been found worldwide, with specimens reported from New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
, the USA, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, the former states of the USSR and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.








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Polycotylidae is a family of plesiosaur
Plesiosaur

Plesiosaurs were carnivore aquatic reptiles. After their discovery, they were somewhat fancifully said to have resembled , although they had no shell....
s from the Cretaceous
Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide, is a geologic period from circa to million years ago . In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows on the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period....
, a sister group to the elasmosauridae
Elasmosauridae

Elasmosauridae was the family of plesiosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and survived from the Early Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous....
.

With their short necks and large elongated heads, they resemble the pliosaur
Pliosaur

The Pliosaurs were Marine reptiles from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Period . They originally included 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....
s, but closer phylogenetical studies indicate that they share many common features with the plesiosauridae and elasmosauridae
Elasmosauridae

Elasmosauridae was the family of plesiosaurs. They had the longest necks of the plesiosaurs and survived from the Early Jurassic to the end of the Cretaceous....
. They have been found worldwide, with specimens reported from New Zealand
New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, Morocco
Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....
, the USA, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
, the former states of the USSR and South America
South America

South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere....
.

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  • , Lepidosauromorpha: Cryptocleidoidea: Tricleidia