Attenborosaurus

---

title: "Attenborosaurus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["early-jurassic-plesiosaurs-of-europe", "fossil-taxa-described-in-1993", "pliosauridae", "taxa-named-by-robert-t.-bakker", "david-attenborough", "sauropterygian-genera", "taxa-with-lost-type-specimens"] description: "Extinct genus of reptiles" topic_path: "general/early-jurassic-plesiosaurs-of-europe" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attenborosaurus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Extinct genus of reptiles ::

| fossil_range = Early Jurassic, | image = Hul - Attenborosaurus conybeari - 2.jpg | image_caption = Casts of the holotype specimen (NHMUK PV R 1339): one showing the left side view of the thorax (top) and another showing the underside of the body and right side view of the neck and skull (bottom), Natural History Museum | genus = Attenborosaurus | parent_authority = Bakker, 1993 | species = conybeari | authority = (Sollas, 1881) | synonyms = *Plesiosaurus conybeari Sollas, 1881

Attenborosaurus is an extinct genus of pliosaurid from the Early Jurassic of Dorset, England. The type species is A. conybeari. The genus is named after Sir David Attenborough,

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Attenborosaurus_conybearei_1.JPG" caption="Natural History Museum"] ::

The original remains of the holotype, specimen, were discovered in Charmouth, Dorset, England in 1880 and was described in 1881. This original specimen was housed at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery where it stayed until it was destroyed in November 1940, during World War II. Before the war in 1888, a cast had been made by William Johnson Sollas and sent to the Natural History Museum in London. This specimen (specimen NHMUK PV R1339) is still housed at the Natural History Museum along with two referred specimens: specimen NHMUK OR 39514 which includes part of the skull; and specimen NHMUK OR 40140 which includes a skull and postcrania and was purchased by E.C. Day in 1866, also from Dorset. Specimens NHMUK PV R 1339 and NHMUK OR 40140 are both on public display in Fossil Way at the museum (although NHMUK OR 40140 is mislabeled as "40140/R1360").

At first the animal was thought to be another Plesiosaurus species by William Johnson Sollas in 1881,

Description

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Attenborosaurus_conybeari_life_restoration.jpg" caption="Asteroceras obtusum]]''"] ::

The length of the holotype individual was about 4.3 m. Much like other plesiosaurs, it was piscivorous. From the skin impression found with the bones, which was later destroyed, it is presumed that the creature had membranous skin, devoid of any significantly large scales, probably for decreasing water resistances.

Classification

The following cladogram follows an analysis by Benson & Druckenmiller (2014). |label1=Plesiosauria |1={{clade |1=Stratesaurus |2=Eoplesiosaurus |3=Plesiosauroidea |4=Rhomaleosauridae |label5=Pliosauridae |5={{clade |1=Thalassiodracon |2={{clade |1=Hauffiosaurus |2={{clade |1=Attenborosaurus |2={{clade |1=Marmornectes |label2=Thalassophonea |2={{clade |1=Peloneustes |2={{clade |1="Pliosaurus" andrewsi |2={{clade |1=Simolestes |2={{clade |1=Liopleurodon |2={{clade |1="Liopleurodon" rossicus |2={{clade |1=Pliosaurus |2=Gallardosaurus }} |3={{clade |1=Brachauchenius |2=Kronosaurus |3=Megacephalosaurus }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

References

References

1. (1881). "On a new species of ''Plesiosaurus'' (''P. Conybeari'') from the Lower Lias of Charmouth; with observations on ''P. megacephalus'', Stutchbury, and ''P. brachycephalus'', Owen". Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London.
2. "Attenborosaurus: a celebrity reptile". nhm.ac.uk.
3. but after studies on the plaster casts made after the remains, ''Plesiosaurus conybeari'' was assigned to a new genus (''Attenborosaurus'') by [[Robert T. Bakker]] in 1993.Bakker, R. T. (1993). Plesiosaur extinction cycles - events that mark the beginning, middle and end of the Cretaceous. ''Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper'' 39:641–664
4. (2013). "Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition". Biological Reviews.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::