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Arthropterygius
''Arthropterygius'' is a widespread genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur which existed in Canada, Norway, Russia, and Argentina from the late Jurassic period and possibly to the earliest Cretaceous. Description ''Arthropterygius'' appears to have been a relatively large ichthyosaur, with all species measuring between long. The partially preserved specimen PMO 222.655 has been estimated at based on comparisons to the contemporary ophthalmosaurid '' Undorosaurus''. This specimen was probably mature or close to maturity at time of death, judging by the convex head of the humerus and the smooth texture of the humeral shaft. Skull and axial skeleton The skull of ''Arthropterygius'' has become well known due to the discovery of a well preserved skull from Svalbard. It is unusual among ichthyosaurs in having a very short, yet also robust rostrum for its skull length. As a result, the orbit appears very large (about 0.34× the skull length). The skull bears a very large pineal for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthropterygius Scale
''Arthropterygius'' is a widespread genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur which existed in Canada, Norway, Russia, and Argentina from the late Jurassic period and possibly to the earliest Cretaceous. Description ''Arthropterygius'' appears to have been a relatively large ichthyosaur, with all species measuring between long. The partially preserved specimen PMO 222.655 has been estimated at based on comparisons to the contemporary ophthalmosaurid '' Undorosaurus''. This specimen was probably mature or close to maturity at time of death, judging by the convex head of the humerus and the smooth texture of the humeral shaft. Skull and axial skeleton The skull of ''Arthropterygius'' has become well known due to the discovery of a well preserved skull from Svalbard. It is unusual among ichthyosaurs in having a very short, yet also robust rostrum for its skull length. As a result, the orbit appears very large (about 0.34× the skull length). The skull bears a very large pineal foram ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophthalmosauridae
Ophthalmosauridae is an extinct family of thunnosaur ichthyosaurs from the Middle Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous (Bajocian - Cenomanian) worldwide. Almost all ichthyosaurs from the Middle Jurassic onwards belong to the family, until the extinction of ichthyosaurs in the early Late Cretaceous. Opthalmosaurids appeared worldwide during early Bajocian, subsequent to the disappearance of most other ichthyosaur lineages after the end of the Toarcian. Currently, the oldest known ophthalmosaurids is '' Mollesaurus'' from the early Bajocian of Argentina, as well as indeterminate remains of the same age from Luxembourg and Canada. Named by George H. Baur, in 1887, the family contains the basal taxa like '' Ophthalmosaurus''. Appleby (1956) named the taxon Ophthalmosauria which was followed by some authors, but these two names are often treated as synonyms; Ophthalmosauridae has the priority over Ophthalmosauria. However, some researchers argue that Ophthalmosauridae should be restri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nannopterygius
''Nannopterygius'' (meaning "small wing/flipper" in Greek) is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous (Callovian to Berriasian stages). Fossils are known from England, Kazakhstan, Russia, and NorwayMcGowan, C. & Motani, R. (2003). ''Ichthyopterygia''. ''In'' Sues, H.-D. Handbook of Paleoherpetology, vol. 8. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich, 175 pp., 19pls. and six species are currently assigned to the genus. Description ''Nannopterygius'' was small for an ichthyosaur, measuring up to long at maximum. About of this was tail, including a deeply forked and probably homocercal caudal fin. The head is long, with a typical long narrow rostrum. The eyes are large, hence its classification as an ophthalmosaurid, and have a bony sclerotic ring inside the eye socket. There are at least 60 disc-shaped vertebrae, although owing to the condition of the fossil it is not possible to tell exactly how many there were, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophthalmosaurus
''Ophthalmosaurus'' (meaning "eye lizard" in Greek) is an ichthyosaur of the Jurassic period (165–150 million years ago). Possible remains from the Cretaceous, around 145 million years ago, are also known. It was a relatively medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring long and weighing . Named for its extremely large eyes, it had a jaw containing many small but robust teeth. Major fossil finds of this genus have been recorded in Europe with a second species possibly being found in North America. Description ''Ophthalmosaurus'' was a medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring long and weighing . It had a robust, streamlined body that was nearly as wide as it was tall in frontal view. Like other derived ichthyosaurs ''Ophthalmosaurus'' had a powerful tail ending in a pronounced bi-lobed caudal fluke whose lower half was formed around the caudal spine whereas the upper lobe was made up entirely from soft tissue. The limbs of ''Ophthalmosaurus'' were short and rounded with the forelimbs bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gengasaurus
''Gengasaurus'' is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Jurassic. The type and only species, ''Gengasaurus nicosiai'', was named in 2017, after the locality of Genga, Marche. It lived in Italy about 152 million years ago. History The near complete holotype was discovered in 1976 in the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Calcari ad aptici e Saccocoma Formation The Calcari ad aptici e Saccocoma Formation, also known as the Saccocoma Formation (known in English as the Haptic limestones and Saccocoma Formation), is a geologic formation in Camponocecchio, Italy that dates back to the Tithonian (152 Ma) - it ... at Camponocecchio and it was described in 1980 and 2000 as the "Genga ichthyosaur" before it was named and described in 2016Ilaria Paparella, Erin E. Maxwell, Angelo Cipriani, Scilla Roncacè and Michael W. Caldwell (2016) - The first ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic of the Umbrian–Marchean Apennines (Marche, Central Italy). ''Geological Maga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Undorosaurus
''Undorosaurus'' is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from western Russia, Svalbard, and Poland. It was a large ichthyosaur, with the type species measuring long and weighing . Discovery and naming ''Undorosaurus'' was named by Vladimir M. Efimov in 1999 and the type species is ''Undorosaurus gorodischensis''. The specific name is named after Gorodische, the type locality of this taxon. ''U. trautscholdi'' is named in honor of the geologist H. Trautschold who collected and made the first description of the fossils of the holotype of the species. ''Undorosaurus'' was first known from the holotype UPM EP-II-20 (527), a partial three-dimensionally preserved skeleton which preserved partial skull. It was collected near the Volga river at Gorodische from the ''Epivirgatites nikitini'' ammonoid zone, dating to the Late Jurassic. A second species, ''U. trautscholdi'' was described by M.S. Arkhangelsky and N.G. Zverkov in 2014 from a partial left fore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Athabascasaurus
''Athabascasaurus'' is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from Alberta, Canada. Discovery and etymology ''Athabascasaurus'' is known from the holotype TMP 2000.29.01, articulated nearly complete postcranial skeleton and nearly complete skull preserved in dorsal view, missing the premaxilla. It was collected in 2000 on the western side of the Syncrude Canada Ltd.'s Base Mine, an open-pit mine near Fort McMurray. The specimen was found in the Wabiskaw Member of the Clearwater Formation, which dates to the earliest Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous epoch, about 112 million years ago. The specimen resides at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. ''Athabascasaurus'' was first named by Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Erin E. Maxwell in 2010 and the type species is ''Athabascasaurus bitumineus''. The generic name is derived from the name of the Athabasca River, which runs through Athabasca oil sands area where the holotype was collected, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platypterygius
''Platypterygius'' is a historically paraphyletic genus of platypterygiine ichthyosaur from the Cretaceous period. It was historically used as a wastebasket taxon, and most species within ''Platypterygius'' likely are undiagnostic at the genus or species level, or represent distinct genera, even being argued as invalid. While fossils referred to ''Platypterygius'' have been found throughout different continents, the holotype specimen was found in Germany. Description As ''Platypterygius'' contains multiple species not especially close to each other, little can be said in terms of shared characteristics. According to an analysis by Fischer (2012), all anatomical features used to unify ''Platypterygius'' species are either not actually present in each species, or much more widespread among unrelated ophthalmosaurs. Generally, species referred to this genus were large bodied macropredators based on their robust dentition. This is also supported by ''P. australis'' having been fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keilhauia
''Keilhauia'' is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur, a type of dolphin-like, large-eyed marine reptile, from the Early Cretaceous shallow marine Slottsmøya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation in Svalbard, Norway. The genus contains a single species, ''K. nui'', known from a single specimen discovered in 2010 and described by Delsett ''et al.'' in 2017. In life, ''Keilhauia'' probably measured approximately in length; it can be distinguished by other ophthalmosaurids by the wide top end of its ilium and the relatively short ischiopubis (the fusion of the ischium and the pubis) compared to the femur. Although it was placed in a basal position within the Ophthalmosauridae by phylogenetic analysis, this placement is probably incorrect. Description Judging by the partially preserved holotype specimen, ''Keilhauia'' has been estimated at based on comparisons to the related ophthalmosaurid '' Cryopterygius''. This specimen was probably mature or close to maturity at time of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janusaurus
''Janusaurus'' is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic Slottsmøya Member, Agardhfjellet Formation of Central Spitsbergen. The holotype consists of a partial skull and postcrania, and would have belonged to an individual measuring long and weighing . In 2019, ''Janusaurus'' was synonymized with '' Arthropterygius'', though maintained as a separate species, by Nikolay Zverkov and Natalya Prilepskaya, although this synonymy was objected to later that same year by Lene Delsett and colleagues, who maintained that they were sufficiently different to warrant separate genera. Gallery Janusaurus lundi.png, Restored skull A-New-Upper-Jurassic-Ophthalmosaurid-Ichthyosaur-from-the-Slottsmøya-Member-Agardhfjellet-Formation-pone.0103152.s006.ogv, Video presentation Keilhauia-1.png, Map of fossil locality See also * List of ichthyosaurs * Timeline of ichthyosaur research This timeline of ichthyosaur research is a chronological listing of events i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palvennia
''Palvennia'' is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurian known from the uppermost Jurassic of Central Spitsbergen, Norway. It was named for PalVenn, the Friends of the Palaeontological Museum in Oslo, whose expedition led to the discovery of the type specimen. ''Palvennia'' was a medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring long and weighing . It is known from a single skull from the Slottsmøya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation (middle Volgian/late Tithonian, Late Jurassic) that measures long. It is unusual in having a very short rostrum (~0.6× the skull length), similar to ''Ichthyosaurus breviceps''. Because of this, the orbit seems very large (0.34× the skull length), but this may be effected by crushing. The single and only known species is ''Palvennia hoybergeti'' Druckenmiller ''et al.'', 2012. In 2019, ''Palvennia'' was synonymized with ''Arthropterygius'', though maintained as a separate species, by Nikolay Zverkov and Natalya Prilepskaya, although this synonymy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
