Corosaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles
title: "Corosaurus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["fossil-taxa-described-in-1936", "early-triassic-reptiles-of-north-america", "pistosaurs", "triassic-sauropterygians", "sauropterygian-genera"] description: "Extinct genus of reptiles" topic_path: "general/fossil-taxa-described-in-1936" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corosaurus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Extinct genus of reptiles ::
| image = Triassic marine vertebrate apex predators.png | image_caption = Corosaurus (12) and other Early Triassic marine predators | fossil_range = Early Triassic, | display_parents = 3 | genus = Corosaurus | grandparent_authority = Kuhn, 1961 | parent_authority = Case, 1936 | authority = Case, 1936 | species = alcovensis
Corosaurus is an extinct genus of pistosauroid known from Wyoming of the United States. The holotype measured about 1.65 m long, while larger specimens would have belonged to individuals measuring more than 4 m long.
History of discovery
Corosaurus is known from the holotype UW 5485, a partial skeleton which includes the skull.
Etymology
Corosaurus was first named by Ermine Cowles Case in 1936 and the type species is Corosaurus alcovensis. The specific name is derived from the name of the Alcova Limestone Formation, in which the holotype was found.
Classification
Corosaurus was placed in its own family, Corosauridae, which named by Oskar Kuhn, in 1961. After a revision of the holotype and referred material of Corosaurus, Olivier Rieppel found Corosaurus to be the sister-taxon to a clade comprising Cymatosaurus, Pistosaurus and Plesiosauria.
References
References
- Ermine Cowles Case. (1936). "A nothosaur from the Triassic of Wyoming". University of Michigan Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology.
- Olivier Rieppel. (1998). "''Corosaurus alcovensis'' Case and the phylogenetic interrelationships of Triassic stem-group Sauropterygia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
- (19 March 2014). "Early Triassic Marine Biotic Recovery: The Predators' Perspective". PLOS ONE.
- Glenn William Storrs. (1991). "Anatomy and Relationships of ''Corosaurus alcovensis'' (Diapsida: Sauropterygia) and the Triassic Alcova Limestone of Wyoming". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History Yale University.
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