plesiosaurianadj.n.
/ˌpliːzɪəˈsɔːrɪən/, U.S. /ˌplisiəˈsɔriən/ Palaeontology.
A. adj.
Of, relating to, or characteristic of a plesiosaur; belonging to the infraorder Plesiosauria.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > extinct reptiles and dinosaurs > [adjective] > belonging to or characteristic of plesiousaurus
plesiosaurian1840
plesiosauroid1860
sauropterygian1861
1840 R. Owen in Trans. Geol. Soc. 5 524 I have not as yet seen any Plesiosaurian cervical vertebræ that resemble those of the Pl. Macrocephalus in this character.
1851 G. A. Mantell Petrifactions iii. 351 Plesiosaurian remains from the Wealden.
1871 E. D. Cope in Amer. Naturalist 5 599 In the Plesiosaurian paddle the separate parts are distinguished.
1989 Nature 20 Apr. 625/3 One apparent problem would have been the evolution of the vertical beat of plesiosaurian wings from the back-and-forth rowing of primitive sauropterygians.
1994 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 343 248/1 It also provides a basis for a reconsideration of some aspects of plesiosaurian palaeontology.
B. n.
A reptile of the order Plesiosauria; a plesiosaur. (In quot. 1869 figurative.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > extinct reptiles and dinosaurs > [noun] > order Sauropterygia > plesiosaurus
Plesiosaurus1821
plesiosaur1839
sauropterygian1861
plesiosaurian1869
plesiosauroid1870
1869 T. Carlyle Let. 17 Aug. in J. Ruskin Wks. (1905) XIX. Introd. p. lxx Many, many are the Phœbus Apollo celestial arrows you still have to shoot into the foul Pythons and poisonous abominable Megatheriums and Plesiosaurians that go staggering ab[ou]t, large as cathedrals in our sunk Epoch ag[ai]n.
1882 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 38 350 A terrestrial Plesiosaurian in process of undergoing those structural modifications which would adapt it for aquatic life.
1896 R. Lydekker Royal Nat. Hist. V. 103 The skeleton of the Lariosaur, a small plesiosaurian.
1907 ‘M. Twain’ in N. Amer. Rev. Nov. 328 One can see he is thinking about the mastodons and plesiosaurians that he used to play with when he was young.
1958 Palaeontology 1 193 It differs in shape from the scapulae of all other Plesiosaurians by the anterior production of its dorsal process.
2000 Geol. Mag. 137 269 The phosphatic deposits of the Palmyra area..have yielded a rich and diversified assemblage of marine vertebrates, including..squamates, chelonians, plesiosaurians and crocodilians.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.n.1840