Plesiopharos
| Plesiopharos Temporal range: Early Jurassic, | |
|---|---|
| Fossils | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Superfamily: | †Plesiosauroidea (?) |
| Genus: | †Plesiopharos Puértolas-Pascual et al., 2021 |
| Species: | †P. moelensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Plesiopharos moelensis Puértolas-Pascual et al., 2021 | |
Plesiopharos (derived from the Greek words πλησίος (plesios), "close" and φάρος (pharos), "lighthouse", because its holotype was found in the vicinity of a lighthouse + [from São Pedro de] Moel) is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic Coimbra Formation of Portugal. Specifically, it was discovered in São Pedro de Moel, Marinha Grande, from which the type species' binomial name, Plesiopharos moelensis, derives from.
At the time of its publication (2021), this plesiosaur was the most complete and oldest known from the Iberian Peninsula.