This study presents the first plesiosaurs recovered from the Jurassic of the Atacama Desert that are informative at the genus level. One specimen is represented by an articulated axial section that shows distinctive features, such as cervical vertebrae with oval articular facets and gracile neural pedicles. The second specimen preserves similar vertebrae, teeth, propodials, and pectoral elements. Their anatomical characteristics allow us to refer them to Muraenosaurus, a genus of cryptoclidid plesiosaur previously reported in Callovian rocks of Europe and Argentina. A third specimen is represented by a fragmentary jaw, which coincides precisely in size and anatomical features with that of Vinialesaurus caroli, another cryptoclidid plesiosaur exclusively known from the Oxfordian of Cuba. The material studied represents the first record of Muraenosaurus in the Oxfordian of the Profeta-La Ternera Basin in northern Chile, adding to previous regional occurrences of the genus and to the record of Cryptoclidus, both also known from the Callovian of Argentina. On the other hand, the specimen referred to Vinialesaurus is the first appearance of this genus in the Southern Hemisphere. These new records give strong support to the exchange of marine vertebrates between the northern Tethys and the southern Pacific through the Caribbean Seaway during the Middle and Late Jurassic.

这项研究提出了从阿塔卡马沙漠的侏罗纪中发现的第一类蛇颈龙，这些蛇颈龙在属上是有意义的。一个标本由具有明显特征的铰接轴向截面表示，例如具有椭圆形关节小面和柔韧的神经蒂的颈椎。第二个标本保留了相似的椎骨，牙齿，前庭和胸部元素。它们的解剖学特征使我们可以将它们称为Muraenosaurus，Muraenosaurus是以前在欧洲和阿根廷的卡洛维安岩石中报道的隐伏蛇颈龙属。第三个标本以颚裂为代表，它的大小和解剖特征与Vinialesaurus caroli的吻合，另一种隐秘蛇颈龙，仅从古巴的牛津人那里知道。所研究的材料代表的第一条记录海鳗龙属在普罗费塔香格里拉Ternera盆地位于智利北部的牛津阶，加上属以前的区域出现，并备案浅隐龙属，也都来自阿根廷的著名卡洛夫阶。另一方面，被称为Vinialesaurus的标本是该属在南半球的首次出现。这些新记录为侏罗纪中期和晚期通过加勒比海航道在北部特提斯和南部太平洋之间的海洋脊椎动物交换提供了有力的支持。