Westphaliasaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Westphaliasaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 190 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 190 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 | 192.9–184.2 million years ago (Pliensbachian) |
| Periods | Jurassic |
| Named by | Schwermann and Sander 2011 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Germany |
| Rock formations | txn:NF |
About Westphaliasaurus
Westphaliasaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian stage) deposits of Westphalia, northwestern Germany. It is known from a nearly complete and articulated skeleton missing the skull and about 38% of the upper neck vertebrae.
It was found by Sönke Simonsen, an amateur paleontologist, in 2007 from the Höxter district near Bielefeld, in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Furthermore, it was first named by Leonie Schwermann and Martin Sander in 2011 and the type species is Westphaliasaurus simonsensii. The generic name is derived from the latinized name for Westfalen, Westphalia and lizard, saurus. The specific name honors Sönke Simonsen. Estimates suggest that it was about 4.5 m (15 ft) long.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Westphaliasaurus (revision 1352617791), 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: Q2882036.
