Augustasaurus
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Augustasaurus Temporal range: Middle Triassic |
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| Skull of Augustasaurus hagdorni in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Clade: | †Eosauropterygia |
| Clade: | †Pistosauroidea |
| Clade: | †Pistosauria |
| Genus: |
†Augustasaurus Sander et al., 1997 |
| Type species | |
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†Augustasaurus hagdorni Sander et al., 1997 |
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Augustasaurus is a genus of aquatic sauropterygian reptile belonging to the Pistosauria, a clade containing plesiosaurs and their close relatives. Pistosaurus and Augustasaurus were thought to be the only known members of the family Pistosauridae. However, some recent cladistic analyses found Augustasaurus to be a more advanced pistosaur, as a sister group of the order Plesiosauria. The only known species of Augustasaurus is Augustasaurus hagdorni , which was first described in 1997.
The first part of Augustasaurus' name comes from the Augusta Mountains of northwestern Nevada, USA, where its fossil bones were first discovered. The second part of the name is the Greek word sauros (σαυρος), which means "lizard" or "reptile." The type species, Augustasaurus hagdorni, was named in honor of the paleontologist Hans Hagdorn.
Augustasaurus' skull shares many general characteristics with its relative, Pistosaurus, such as tall, blade-like upper temporal arches. The skull's elongated rostrum tapers to a dull point, the anterior premaxillary and maxillary teeth have been described as "fang-like", and the squamosal makes a box-like suspensorium.
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