Palmulasaurus
Encyclopedia
Palmulasaurus is a genus
of polycotylid plesiosaur
from the Late Cretaceous
of Utah
. It was originally described as Palmula, but the name was occupied by a genus of Cretaceous foraminifer first described in 1833.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of polycotylid plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
from the Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous period is divided in the geologic timescale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous series...
of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. It was originally described as Palmula, but the name was occupied by a genus of Cretaceous foraminifer first described in 1833.