Named By: | Z. Gasparini, N. Bardet & M. IturraldeinVinent in 2002 |
Time Period: | Late Jurassic, Oxfordian |
Location: | Cuba, Pinar del Rio - Jagua Formation |
Size: | Unavailable |
Diet: | Piscivore |
Fossil(s): | Skull |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Sauropterygia | Plesiosauria | Plesiosauroidea | Cryptoclididae | |
Also known as: | | Cryptocleidus caroli | |
Vinialesaurus is a genus of plesiosaur from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) Jagua Formation of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. The type species is Vinialesaurus caroli, first described as Cryptocleidus caroli by De la Torre and Rojas in 1949, and redescribed by Gasparini, Bardet and Iturralde in 2002. The authors of the 2002 paper considered Vinialesaurus distinct enough from Cryptocleidus to warrant its own genus, but it was broadly similar to Cryptocleidus.
The name Vinialesaurus honors Vinales, the town in western Cuba where the fossils of Vinialesaurus was discovered. These fossils consist of a mostly complete skull, jaw, and portions of the vertebrae.