''Jabalisaurus'' is an
ophthalmosaurid
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 e ...
ichthyosaur
Ichthyosauria is an order of large extinct marine reptiles sometimes referred to as "ichthyosaurs", although the term is also used for wider clades in which the order resides.
Ichthyosaurians thrived during much of the Mesozoic era; based on fo ...
from the
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time scale, geologic time from 161.5 ± 1.0 to 143.1 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic stratum, strata.Owen ...
La Caja Formation
The La Caja Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Mexico. It preserves fossils dating from the Kimmeridgian to the lower Berriasian. La Caja Formation is widespread in northeastern and central Mexico and known for their abunda ...
of
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. It contains a single species, ''Jabalisaurus meztli.''
It was initially identified as a specimen of a ''
Ophthalmosaurus
''Ophthalmosaurus'' (Greek ὀφθάλμος ''ophthalmos'' 'eye' and σαῦρος ''sauros'' 'lizard') is a genus of ichthyosaur known from the Middle-Late Jurassic. Possible remains from the earliest Cretaceous, around 145 million years ago, a ...
'' cf. ''icenus''.
[Buchy, M.-C. 2010. "First record of ''Ophthalmosaurus'' (Reptilia, ichthyosauria) from the Tithonian (upper jurassic) of Mexico". ''Journal of Paleontology''. 84(1): 149–155]
References
{{Ichthyosauria, Parvipelvia
Fossil taxa described in 2021