Plesiopharos

Plesiopharos; Temporal range: Early Jurassic,
	Fossils
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Superfamily:	†Plesiosauroidea (?)
Genus:	†Plesiopharos; Puértolas-Pascual et al., 2021
Species:	†P. moelensis
Binomial name
	†Plesiopharos moelensis; Puértolas-Pascual et al., 2021

Plesiopharos (derived from the Greek words πλησίος (plesios), "close" and φάρος (pharos), "lighthouse", because its holotype was found in the vicinity of a lighthouse + [from São Pedro de] Moel) is an extinct genus of plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic Coimbra Formation of Portugal. Specifically, it was discovered in São Pedro de Moel, Marinha Grande, from which the type species' binomial name, Plesiopharos moelensis, derives from.

At the time of its publication (2021), this plesiosaur was the most complete and oldest known from the Iberian Peninsula.^[1]

^ Puértolas-Pascual, Eduardo; Marx, Miguel; Mateus, Octávio; Saleiro, André; Fernandes, Alexandra E.; Marinheiro, João; Tomás, Carla & Mateus, Simão (2021). "A new plesiosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Portugal and the early radiation of Plesiosauroidea". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 66 (in press). doi:10.4202/app.00815.2020. hdl:10362/123694.

[PuerMarxMateSale21-1] Puértolas-Pascual, Eduardo; Marx, Miguel; Mateus, Octávio; Saleiro, André; Fernandes, Alexandra E.; Marinheiro, João; Tomás, Carla & Mateus, Simão (2021). "A new plesiosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Portugal and the early radiation of Plesiosauroidea". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 66 (in press). doi:10.4202/app.00815.2020. hdl:10362/123694.

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