Gracilineustes

Gracilineustes is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform that lived in the oceans during the Middle to Late Jurassic. Gracilineustes was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea. It was a small reptile, with G. leedsi measuring long and G. acutus measuring long.

Discovery and species

Fossil specimens referrable to Gracilineustes are known from Middle-Late Jurassic deposits of England and France.

Valid species

• G. leedsi: Western Europe (England) of the Middle Jurassic (Callovian); Metriorhynchus laeve is a junior synonym.
• G. acutus: Western Europe (France) of the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian)

Classification

Gracilineustes is an early member of the metriorhynchid subfamily Metriorhynchinae. The cladogram below is from an analysis by Mark Young and colleagues in 2020.

References