Toarcian

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The Toarcian Stage was the last faunal stage of the Early Jurassic period. It is usually used to cover the period from 183 Ma to 175 Ma (million years ago).

The Toarcian stage began with the Toarcian turnover, the extinction event that set it apart from the previous Pliensbachian stage. The Toarcian takes its name from the town of Thouars, just south of Saumur in the Loire Valley of France.

In Europe this period is also known as the Upper Lias Stage.

Contents 1 Vertebrate Fauna 1.1 Ornithischians 1.2 Plesiosaurs 1.3 Sauropods 1.4 Thalattosuchians

[edit] Vertebrate Fauna

[edit] Ornithischians

Ornithischians of the Toarcian
Taxa	Presence	Location	Description	Images
Emausaurus		Germany	Armored dinosaur known from a skull and partial postcranial remains, although only the skull is known well. Armor includes conical scutes and tall, spiny elements.

[edit] Plesiosaurs

Plesiosauria of the Toarcian
Taxa	Presence	Location	Description	Images
Occitanosaurus		Tournemire, Aveyron, France	A plesiosaur similar to Elasmosaurus; fossils consist of a single but nearly complete skeleton of an animal approximately 4 meters (13 ft) long	Plesiosaurus Rhomaleosaurus
Plesiosaurus guilelmiimperatoris	Sinemurian and Toarcian	Württemberg, Germany	A large (about 3 to 5 meters long), marine sauropterygian reptile, it was distinguished by its small head, long and slender neck, broad turtle like body, a short tail, and two pairs of large, elongated paddles
Rhomaleosaurus	Hettangian and Toarcian	Alum Shale, Yorkshire, England; Holzmaden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany	A genus of sauropterygian carnivorous reptile belonging to the pliosaur superfamily, it was about 7m long.

[edit] Sauropods

Sauropoda of the Toarcian
Taxa	Presence	Location	Description	Images
Barapasaurus		India	The earliest known sauropod. Reached a length of about 18 metres (60 feet), and weighed about 48 tones (53 tons). Its height to the hip was approximately 5.5 metres (18 feet)	Barapasaurus
Rhoetosaurus	Disputed	Central Queensland, Australia	Estimated to have been about 12-15 metres long. Has been compared to Shunosaurus, based on similar general age, but without justification.

[edit] Thalattosuchians

Thalattosuchia of the Toarcian
Taxa	Presence	Location	Description	Images
Pelagosaurus		Somerset, England; France; Germany		Pelagosaurus
Peipehsuchus
Platysuchus
Steneosaurus

Jurassic period
Lower/Early Jurassic	Middle Jurassic	Upper/Late Jurassic
Hettangian | Sinemurian Pliensbachian | Toarcian	Aalenian | Bajocian Bathonian | Callovian	Oxfordian | Kimmeridgian Tithonian