Pelagosaurus
| Pelagosaurus Temporal range: Toarcian | |
|---|---|
| Cast of Pelagosaurus typus (skeleton and scutes) at the Field Museum of Natural History | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Archosauria |
| Clade: | Pseudosuchia |
| Clade: | Crocodylomorpha |
| Suborder: | †Thalattosuchia |
| Genus: | †Pelagosaurus Bronn, 1841 |
| Species: | †P. typus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Pelagosaurus typus Bronn, 1841 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Pelagosaurus (meaning "lizard of the open sea") is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 Ma to 176 Ma (million years ago), in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe. The systematic taxonomy of Pelagosaurus has been fiercely disputed over the years, and was assigned to Thalattosuchia after its systematics within Teleosauridae were disputed. Pelagosaurus measured 2–3 m (6.6–9.8 ft) long.