Purranisaurus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform from the Middle to Late Jurassic period of Chile and Vaca Muerta of Argentina. Rusconi originally regarded Purranisaurus potens (the type species) to be a plesiosaur;[Gasparini Z. 1975. Revisión de ? Purranisaurus potens Rusconi, 1948 (Crocodilia, Thalattosuchia) Los Thalattosuchia como un nuevo Infraorden de los Crocodilia. Actas del Congreso Geologico Argentino 5: 423–431.] It was about long.
Taxonomy and phylogeny
In the 2000s
phylogenetic analysis has shown that
Purranisaurus is a distinct metriorhynchid genus.
[Young MT. 2007. The evolution and interrelationships of Metriorhynchidae (Crocodyliformes, Thalattosuchia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27 (3): 170A.][Young, Mark T., and Marco Brandalise de Andrade, 2009. "What is Geosaurus? Redescription of Geosaurus giganteus (Thalattosuchia: Metriorhynchidae) from the Upper Jurassic of Bayern, Germany." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 157: 551-585.] A subsequent study expanded the genus
Purranisaurus to include
Metriorhynchus casamiquelai and
M. westermanni.
[Young, Mark T., Brusatte, Stephen L., Ruta, M., Andrade, Marco B. 2009. "The evolution of Metriorhynchoidea (Mesoeucrocodylia, Thalattosuchia): an integrated approach using geometrics morphometrics, analysis of disparity and biomechanics". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158: 801-859.] Following the re-description of the
holotype of the
type species, only that species is now referred to
Purranisaurus.
