Eretmosaurus

Taxonomic history

Eretmosaurus was coined by Harry Govier Seeley for Plesiosaurus rugosus Owen, 1840 Richard Owen had coined the name P. rugosus for numerous vertebrae from the Early Jurassic Blue Lias of Gloucestershire and other unspecified locations in the UK. Later, Owen described a headless skeleton (NHMUK 14435) that he assigned to P. rugosus, and Seeley used NHMUK 14435 as the basis for coining a new genus for this species.