‖ Pliosaurus Palæont.
(plaɪəʊˈsɔːrəs)
Also pleio-.
[mod.L., f. Gr. πλείον more, pleio- + σαῦρος lizard; so called because more near to the saurian type than the ichthyosaurus.]
A genus of fossil marine reptiles, resembling Plesiosaurus, but with shorter neck, larger head, and stronger jaws and teeth; their remains are found in the Upper Oolite. Also anglicized as ˈpliosaur. Hence plioˈsaurian a., of or belonging to the genus Pliosaurus.
| 1851 Richardson Geol. (1855) 300 The Pliosaurus was a gigantic reptile, intermediate between the two preceding genera. We know two species from the Oxford and Kimmeridge clays. 1859 Owen in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 8) XVII. 148/2 This short-necked and big-headed amphicœlian Pliosaur. 1888 R. Lydekker in Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. XLV. 50 Further indications of Pliosaurian affinities. |