# Eurysaurus

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Extinct genus of reptiles

Eurysaurus Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 195–185 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Superorder: †Sauropterygia Order: †Plesiosauria Suborder: †Pliosauroidea Genus: †Eurysaurus Gaudry, 1878 Type species †Eurysaurus raincourti Gaudry, 1878

***Eurysaurus*** (meaning "wide lizard") is an [extinct](/source/Extinct) genus of [plesiosaur](/source/Plesiosaur), originally classed as a [nothosaur](/source/Nothosaur), from the [Early Jurassic](/source/Early_Jurassic) of [Echenoz-la-Meline](/source/Echenoz-la-Meline), [France](/source/France), named in 1878. The [type](/source/Type_(biology)) material, consisting of a [cranium](/source/Cranium), teeth and five [vertebrae](/source/Vertebrae), is now lost.[1] The type species is *E. raincourti*, and a second species, *E. schafferi*, was named in 1924 but it has since been absorbed into the unrelated genus *[Germanosaurus](/source/Germanosaurus)*.[2]

## History

The holotype, first described in 1878 by [Albert Gaudry](/source/Albert_Gaudry), has since been lost. A new study based essentially on illustrations of the type material by Noè (2001) has considered *Eurysaurus* a *[nomen dubium](/source/Nomen_dubium)*, probably congeneric with the [pliosaur](/source/Pliosaur) *[Simolestes](/source/Simolestes)*.[3] However, due to the stratigraphic difference of the two forms, it is possible that *Eurysaurus* was a separate genus in its own right.

## Classification

Gaudry in 1878 originally classified *Eurysaurus* as a [nothosaur](/source/Nothosaur).[1] In 2001, Noè reclassified *Eurysaurus* as a [plesiosaur](/source/Plesiosaur), possibly belonging to the [Pliosauroidea](/source/Pliosauroidea).[3]

## See also

- [Paleontology portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Paleontology)

- [Timeline of plesiosaur research](/source/Timeline_of_plesiosaur_research)

- [List of plesiosaurs](/source/List_of_plesiosaurs)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Gaudry1878_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Gaudry1878_1-1) Gaudry, a. 1878. Sur un grand reptile fossil (the *Eurysaurus raincourti*). Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des Séances de l ' Académie des Sciences, Paris, 86: 1031–1033.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** O. Rieppel. 1997. Revision of the sauropterygian reptile genus *[Cymatosaurus](/source/Cymatosaurus)* v. Fritsch, 1894, and the relationships of *Germanosaurus* Nopcsa, 1928, from the Middle Triassic of Europe. *Fieldiana: Geology, new series*

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Noè2001_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Noè2001_3-1) Noè, LF 2001. A taxonomic and functional study of the Callovian (Middle Jurassic) Plesiosauroidea (Reptilia, Sauropterygia). *Ph.D. thesis, University of Derby, Derby, UK.*

Taxon identifiers Eurysaurus Wikidata: Q3734985 Wikispecies: Eurysaurus GBIF: 7237023

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eurysaurus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurysaurus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurysaurus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.