Thalassophonea

Thalassophoneans Temporal range: Callovian-Turonian ~
Liopleurodon ferox
Sachicasaurus vitae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Family:	†Pliosauridae
Clade:	†Thalassophonea Benson & Druckenmiller, 2013
Subgroups
†Gallardosaurus †Ischyrodon †Liopleurodon †Megalneusaurus †Simolestes †Peloneustes †Pliosaurus †Brachaucheninae †Acostasaurus †Brachauchenius †Kronosaurus †Luskhan †Makhaira †Megacephalosaurus †Polyptychodon †Sachicasaurus? †Stenorhynchosaurus

Thalassophonea is an extinct clade of pliosaurids from the Middle Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous (Callovian to Turonian) of Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Thalassophonea was erected by Roger Benson and Patrick Druckenmiller in 2013. The name is derived from Greek thalassa (θάλασσα), "sea", and phoneus (φονεύς), "murderer". It is a stem-based taxon defined as "all taxa more closely related to Pliosaurus brachydeirus than to Marmornectes candrewi". It includes the short necked and large headed taxa that typify the family.

Classification

The following cladogram follows an analysis by Benson & Druckenmiller (2014).