These marine reptiles were widespread during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, their fossilized remains are being frequently found on various places around the world.[5]
Phylogeny
Life reconstructions showing the maximum body lengths for the four Geosaurini genera present in the late Kimmeridgian-early Tithonian of Western Europe
Geosaurinae is a stem-based taxon defined in the PhyloCode in 2024 as the largest clade within Metriorhynchidae containing Geosaurus giganteus, but not Rhacheosaurus gracilis, Metriorhynchus brevirostris, and Gracilineustes leedsi.[6] The derived tribe Geosaurini was named by Lydekker in 1889, and it is a node-based taxon defined in the PhyloCode by Mark T. Young and colleagues in 2024 as the smallest clade within Metriorhynchidae containing Tyrannoneustes lythrodectikos, Geosaurus giganteus, Torvoneustes carpenteri, and Dakosaurus maximus.[6] There are many subclades within Geosaurini, namely Dakosaurina, Geosaurina, Plesiosuchina, and the lineage containing Torvoneustes and relatives.[7][6] Geosaurina contains the genera Geosaurus and Ieldraan and defined in the PhyloCode as "the largest clade within Metriorhynchidae containing Geosaurus giganteus, but not Metriorhynchus brevirostris, Plesiosuchus manselii, Torvoneustes carpenteri, and Dakosaurus maximus".[6] The clade Plesiosuchina contains Plesiosuchus and Suchodus and is defined in the PhyloCode as "the largest clade within Metriorhynchidae containing Plesiosuchus manselii, but not Metriorhynchus brevirostris, Geosaurus giganteus, Torvoneustes carpenteri, and Dakosaurus maximus".[6] Most recently, the clade Dakosaurina was formally named and defined in the PhyloCode by Mark T. Young and colleagues in 2024 as "the largest clade within Metriorhynchidae containing Dakosaurus maximus, but not Metriorhynchus brevirostris, Geosaurus giganteus, Plesiosuchus manselii, and Torvoneustes carpenteri.[6] The cladogram below follows the topology from a 2020 analysis by Young et al.[7]
^Mark T. Young; Stephen L. Brusatte; Marcello Ruta; Marco Brandalise de Andrade (2010). "The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia): an integrated approach using geometrics morphometrics, analysis of disparity and biomechanics". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 158 (4): 801–859. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00571.x.
^Andrea Cau; Federico Fanti (2011). "The oldest known metriorhynchid crocodylian from the Middle Jurassic of North-eastern Italy: Neptunidraco ammoniticus gen. et sp. nov". Gondwana Research. 19 (2): 550–565. Bibcode:2011GondR..19..550C. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2010.07.007.
.jpg){kind=small}
