Pliosaurus (meaning 'more lizard') is an extinct genus of thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian stages (Late Jurassic) of Europe and South America. Their diet would have included fish, cephalopods, and marine reptiles. This genus has contained many species in the past but recent reviews found only six to be valid, while the validity of two additional species awaits a petition to the ICZN. Pliosaurus currently consists of the type species P. brachydeirus, and also P. brachyspondylus, P. carpenteri, P. funkei, P. kevani, P. macromerus, P. rossicus and P. westburyensis, as well as the invalid P. portentificus. Most species of Pliosaurus are notable for their large body size, while the others, P. brachydeirus, P. brachyspondylus and P. portentificus, are known ex