Gracilineustes

Gracilineustes; Temporal range: Callovian - Kimmeridgian, 167–155 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Fossil skull of G. leedsi, NHMUK PV R5793, at the Field Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Archosauria
Clade:	Pseudosuchia
Clade:	Crocodylomorpha
Clade:	Crocodyliformes
Suborder:	†Thalattosuchia
Family:	†Metriorhynchidae
Subfamily:	†Metriorhynchinae
Genus:	†Gracilineustes; Young et al., 2010
Type species
	†Gracilineuestes leedsi; (Andrews, 1913)
Other species
	†G. acutus Lennier, 1887 ;
Synonyms
	Metriorhynchus laeve Andrews, 1913;

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 2.25–3.11 m (7.4–10.2 ft) long and G. acutus measuring 3.77 m (12.4 ft) long.^[3]

Discovery and species

Fossil specimens referrable to Gracilineustes are known from Middle-Late Jurassic deposits of England and France.^[4]

Valid species

G. leedsi: Western Europe (England) of the Middle Jurassic (Callovian);^[2] Metriorhynchus laeve is a junior synonym.
G. acutus: Western Europe (France) of the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) ^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Lennier G. 1887. Description des fossiles du Cap de la Hève. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de Normandie, Le Havre 12: 17-98.
^ ^a ^b Andrews CW. 1913. A descriptive catalogue of the marine reptiles of the Oxford Clay, Part Two. London: British Museum (Natural History), 206 pp.
^ Young, M.T.; Bell, M.A.; de Andrade, M.B.; Brusatte, S.L. (2011). "Body size estimation and evolution in metriorhynchid crocodylomorphs: implications for species diversification and niche partitioning". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163 (4): 1199–1216. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00734.x.
^ Young, Mark T., Brusatte, Stephen L., Ruta, M., Andrade, Marco B. 2009. "The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia): an integrated approach using geometrics morphometrics, analysis of disparity and biomechanics". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 801-859.

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[Lennier,_1887-1] Lennier G. 1887. Description des fossiles du Cap de la Hève. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de Normandie, Le Havre 12: 17-98.

[Andrews,_1913-2] Andrews CW. 1913. A descriptive catalogue of the marine reptiles of the Oxford Clay, Part Two. London: British Museum (Natural History), 206 pp.

[3] Young, M.T.; Bell, M.A.; de Andrade, M.B.; Brusatte, S.L. (2011). "Body size estimation and evolution in metriorhynchid crocodylomorphs: implications for species diversification and niche partitioning". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163 (4): 1199–1216. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00734.x.

[Youngetal.2010-4] Young, Mark T., Brusatte, Stephen L., Ruta, M., Andrade, Marco B. 2009. "The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia): an integrated approach using geometrics morphometrics, analysis of disparity and biomechanics". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 801-859.

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