Taxonomic history of the genus Aristonectes (original) (raw)

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After O'Keefe, 2001 and Gasparini, Bardet, Martin & Fernández, 2003

†_Aristonectes_ Cabrera, 1941
    †_Turneria_ Chatterjee & Small, 1989 (preoccupied)
    †_Morturneria_ Chatterjee & Creisler, 1994

†_Aristonectes parvidens_ Cabrera, 1941
    †_Turneria seymourensis_ Chatterjee & Small, 1989 (preoccupied)
    †_Morturneria seymourensis_ (Chatterjee & Small, 1989) Chatterjee & Creisler, 1994

Note:

In his phylogenetic analysis of plesiosaurs, O'Keefe (2001) did not treat Aristonectes Cabrera, 1941. He mentions it in passing, stating that it is very similar to Antarctic genus Morturneria Chatterjee & Creisler, 1994. Based on his analysis O'Keefe places Morturneria to a rather obscure basal cryptoclidoid family "Cimoliasauridae" Delair, 1959. "Cimoliasauridae" in itself is of doubtful validy, since it is based on a invalid genus Cimoliasaurus Leidy, 1851

In a more recent paper by Gasparini et al. (2003) Aristonectes is treated as a Elasmosaurid genus. They also classify Morturneria as a junior synonym of Aristonectes.

Reference(s):

Gasparini, Z., Bardet, N., Martin, J. E. & Fernández, M. S., 2003: The elasmosaurid plesiosaur Aristonectes Cabreta from the Latest Cretaceous of South America and Antarctica.
–Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol. 23, #1, pp. 104-115

O'Keefe, F. R., 2001: A cladistic analysis and taxonomic revision of the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia).
–Acta Zoologica Fennica: Vol. #213, pp. 1-63