The skeletal completeness of the Palaeozoic chondrichthyan fossil record by Lisa Schnetz, Richard J. Butler, Michael I. Coates, Ivan J. Sansom

“…Sea level significantly negatively correlates with chondrichthyan completeness records and resembles patterns already evident in records of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and sauropodomorphs. Such observed variations in completeness highlight the impact of different sampling biases on the chondrichthyan fossil record and the need to acknowledge these when inferring patterns of chondrichthyan macroevolution.…”
Get full text

A new, exceptionally preserved juvenile specimen of Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi (Diapsida) and implications for Mesozoic marine diapsid phylogeny by Scheyer, T, Neenan, J, Bodogan, T, Furrer, H, Obrist, C, Plamondon, M

“…Recently it was suggested that the phylogenetic clustering of Mesozoic marine reptile lineages, such as thalattosaurs, the very successful fish-shaped ichthyosaurs and sauropterygians (including plesiosaurs), among others, in a so-called 'superclade' is an artefact linked to convergent evolution of morphological characters associated with a shared marine lifestyle. …”

Mosasauroid phylogeny under multiple phylogenetic methods provides new insights on the evolution of aquatic adaptations in the group. by Tiago R Simões, Oksana Vernygora, Ilaria Paparella, Paulina Jimenez-Huidobro, Michael W Caldwell

“…They can be considered one of the few lineages in the evolutionary history of tetrapods to have acquired a fully aquatic lifestyle, similarly to whales, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Despite a long history of research on this group, their phylogenetic relationships have only been tested so far using traditional (unweighted) maximum parsimony. …”
Get full text

Ontogenetic variation in the cranium of Mixosaurus cornalianus, with implications for the evolution of ichthyosaurian cranial development by Feiko Miedema, Gabriele Bindellini, Cristiano Dal Sasso, Torsten M. Scheyer, Erin E. Maxwell

“…This allows us to assess ontogenetic changes in cranial morphology, and identify stages in the ontogenetic trajectory where divergence with more derived ichthyosaurs has occurred. Early ontogenetic stages of Mixosaurus show developmental patterns that are reminiscent of the presumed ancestral (early diverging sauropsid) condition. …”
Get full text

Thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs from European Russia, and new insights into metriorhynchid tooth serration evolution and their palaeolatitudinal distribution by Mark T. Young, Nikolay G. Zverkov, Maxim S. Arkhangelsky, Alexey P. Ippolitov, Igor A. Meleshin, Georgy V. Mirantsev, Alexey S. Shmakov, Ilya M. Stenshin

“…These observations support the hypothesis that metriorhynchids evolved an elevated metabolism but were not endo-homeothermic, especially as endo-homeothermic marine reptiles (ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs) remained abundant at much higher palaeolatitudes.…”
Get full text

High diversity, low disparity and small body size in plesiosaurs (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary by Benson, R, Evans, M, Druckenmiller, P

“…Invasion of the open ocean by tetrapods represents a major evolutionary transition that occurred independently in cetaceans, mosasauroids, chelonioids (sea turtles), ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Plesiosaurian reptiles invaded pelagic ocean environments immediately following the Late Triassic extinctions. …”

A giant chelonioid turtle from the late Cretaceous of Morocco with a suction feeding apparatus unique among tetrapods. by Nathalie Bardet, Nour-Eddine Jalil, France de Lapparent de Broin, Damien Germain, Olivier Lambert, Mbarek Amaghzaz

“…Mesozoic (250-65 Myr) marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, mosasaurid squamates, crocodiles, and turtles, exhibit a wide range of adaptations to aquatic feeding and a broad overlap of their tooth morphospaces with those of Cenozoic marine mammals. …”
Get full text

The ecological diversification and evolution of Teleosauroidea (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia), with insights into their mandibular biomechanics by Michela M. Johnson, Davide Foffa, Mark T. Young, Stephen L. Brusatte

“…Abstract Throughout the Jurassic, a plethora of marine reptiles dominated ocean waters, including ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and thalattosuchian crocodylomorphs. …”
Get full text

OF HIS BONES ARE CRINOID MADE: TAPHONOMY AND DEADFALL ECOLOGY OF MARINE REPTILES FROM A PELAGIC SETTING (MIDDLE-UPPER JURASSIC OF NORTHEASTERN ITALY) by Giovanni Serafini, SILVIA DANISE, ERIN E. MAXWELL, LUCA MARTIRE, JACOPO AMALFITANO, MIRIAM , COBIANCHI, URSULA THUN HOHENSTEIN, LUCA GIUSBERTI

“…Here we provide a detailed taphonomic survey of ichthyosaurs, pliosaurs and metriorhynchoids from the pelagic Middle-Upper Jurassic Rosso Ammonitico Veronese (RAV) of northeastern Italy. …”
Get full text

Comparative bone histology of two thalattosaurians (Diapsida: Thalattosauria): Askeptosaurus italicus from the Alpine Triassic (Middle Triassic) and a Thalattosauroidea indet. from... by N. Klein, P. M. Sander, J. Liu, P. Druckenmiller, E. T. Metz, N. P. Kelley, T. M. Scheyer

“…The cancellous bone of the Oregon thalattosauroid resembles what is documented in ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. However, in contrast to these its tissue does not consist of fibro-lamellar bone type. …”
Get full text