Extinction events among Mesozoic marine reptiles

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Abstract
Marine reptiles are an adaptive assemblage including a mosaic of forms with fully marine groups (ichthyosaurs, “nothosaurs”;, plesiosaurs, placodonts, thalattosaurs and hupehsuchians), as well as groups containing continental representatives (turtles, crocodiles, lizards and snakes). Forty‐six families of marine reptiles are recorded during the Mesozoic. The fossil record of marine reptiles is punctuated by two major extinctions at the Middle‐Late Triassic transition (loss of 64% of families) and at the Cretaceous‐Tertiary boundary (36% of families died out). The Ladinian‐Carnian boundary event coincides with an important regressive phase and affects essentially coastal forms. The K/T boundary is characterized by selective extinctions among marine reptiles, probably linked with a break in the food chain.