Sinopliosaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Sinopliosaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 160 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 160 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Plesiosaurs & kin |
|---|---|
| Lived | 184.2–143.1 million years ago (Toarcian to Tithonian) |
| Periods | Jurassic |
| Family | Pliosauridae |
| Named by | Young 1944 |
| Fossil records | 4 occurrences at 4 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | China |
| Rock formations | Ziliujing, Lianmuqin, txn:38178 |
About Sinopliosaurus
Sinopliosaurus (meaning "Chinese more lizard") is a dubious genus of pliosauroid plesiosaur. It lived during the Aptian and Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous (disputed Sinopliosaurus remains have been dated to the Toarcian age and were found in the Ziliujing Formation) of the People's Republic of China - its exact age is unknown. The type species, Sinopliosaurus weiyuanensis, was named and described in 1944 by Yang Zhongjian. One species, "S." fusuiensis, was later shown to be based on teeth from a spinosaurid theropod dinosaur which is now known as Siamosaurus. S. weiyuanensis was considered as a freshwater plesiosaur.
The holotype, IVPP V140, consists of three vertebrae and a tooth, discovered in a layer of the Lianmugin Formation (Tugulu Group).
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Sinopliosaurus (revision 1283156615), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q7524937.
