Ichthyosauria

Taxon

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Besanosaurus leptorhynchus referred specimen PIMUZ T 4376, preserved on the same slab as a specimen of the smaller Mixosaurus. Scale bar represents 50 cm (1.6 ft). Figure 3C of Bindellini et al. (2021).
References:

Bindellini, G.; Wolniewicz, A.S.; Miedema, F.; Scheyer, T.M.; Dal Sasso, C. (2021). "Cranial anatomy of Besanosaurus leptorhynchus Dal Sasso & Pinna, 1996 (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio, Italy/Switzerland: Taxonomic and palaeobiological implications". PeerJ 9: e11179. DOI:10.7717/peerj.11179.

Besanosaurus leptorhynchus referred specimen PIMUZ T 4376, preserved on the same slab as a specimen of the smaller Mixosaurus. Scale bar represents 50 cm (1.6 ft). Figure 3C of Bindellini et al. (2021). References: Bindellini, G.; Wolniewicz, A.S.; Miedema, F.; Scheyer, T.M.; Dal Sasso, C. (2021). "Cranial anatomy of Besanosaurus leptorhynchus Dal Sasso & Pinna, 1996 (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio, Italy/Switzerland: Taxonomic and palaeobiological implications". PeerJ 9: e11179. DOI:10.7717/peerj.11179.

scale Italy Switzerland Middle Triassic +8
Modified version of figure 23 of Bindellini et al. (2021) showing just the ichthyosaurs from the Besano Formation: Besanosaurus leptorhynchus (A), Mixosaurus cornalianus (B), and Cymbospondylus buchseri (C). The original figure was uploaded unmodified here: File:Early to Middle Triassic Longirostrine Ichthyopterygians.png
References:

Bindellini, G.; Wolniewicz, A.S.; Miedema, F.; Scheyer, T.M.; Dal Sasso, C. (2021). "Cranial anatomy of Besanosaurus leptorhynchus Dal Sasso & Pinna, 1996 (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio, Italy/Switzerland: Taxonomic and palaeobiological implications". PeerJ 9: e11179. DOI:10.7717/peerj.11179.

Modified version of figure 23 of Bindellini et al. (2021) showing just the ichthyosaurs from the Besano Formation: Besanosaurus leptorhynchus (A), Mixosaurus cornalianus (B), and Cymbospondylus buchseri (C). The original figure was uploaded unmodified here: File:Early to Middle Triassic Longirostrine Ichthyopterygians.png References: Bindellini, G.; Wolniewicz, A.S.; Miedema, F.; Scheyer, T.M.; Dal Sasso, C. (2021). "Cranial anatomy of Besanosaurus leptorhynchus Dal Sasso & Pinna, 1996 (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio, Italy/Switzerland: Taxonomic and palaeobiological implications". PeerJ 9: e11179. DOI:10.7717/peerj.11179.

Italy Switzerland Middle Triassic Triassic +7
Identifier: waterreptilesofp1914will
Title: Water reptiles of the past and present
Year: 1914 (1910s)
Authors:  Williston, Samuel Wendell, 1851-1918
Subjects:  Aquatic reptiles
Publisher:  Chicago, Ill., The University of Chicago Press
Contributing Library:  Boston Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor:  Boston Public Library

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served and very complete skeletons ofdifferent species of ichthyosaurs from the Jurassic deposits ofWiirtemberg, in which remains of these animals occur in great 112 WATER REPTILES OF THE PAST AND PRESENT profusion. His researches, and those of several authors since then,supplementing and confirming or disproving those of the manyobservers made during the preceding seventy years, have finallydetermined almost perfectly the complete structure of the moretypical ichthyosaurs, enabling us to infer not a little as to theirhabits and distribution in the old Jurassic oceans. Within thepast few years the discoveries of Professor J. C. Merriam of Cali-fornia have likewise added greatly to our knowledge of the earlierichthyosaurs. It may now truthfully be said that of no group ofextinct reptiles do we have a more complete and satisfactory knowl-edge than of the ichthyosaurs. Nevertheless we have yet very much more to learn about theorder Ichthyosauria as a whole—whence they came and how they
Text Appearing After Image:
Fig. 52.—Ichthyosaurus quadricissus.museum, from Dr. Dreverman. Photograph of specimen in Senckenberg originated; what their nearest kin were among other reptiles; andespecially, more about the connecting links between them andterrestrial reptiles. They have, as an order, so isolated a position,are so widely separated from all other reptiles in structure, that theyhave long been a puzzle to paleontologists. Like the whales andother cetaceans among mammals, we know the ichthyosaurs wellin the plenitude of their power and the fulness of their development,but have yet only an imperfect knowledge of their earlier history,and none whatever of their earliest. However, as will be seenfarther on, the recent discoveries by Merriam have shed much lighton some of the stages of their evolution. So nearly perfectly wereall the later ichthyosaurs adapted to their life in the water that itwas believed by nearly all paleontologists until about a score of years ICHTHYOSAURIA 3 ago that they had desc

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Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.
Taxa Stenopterygiidae

Identifier: waterreptilesofp1914will Title: Water reptiles of the past and present Year: 1914 (1910s) Authors: Williston, Samuel Wendell, 1851-1918 Subjects: Aquatic reptiles Publisher: Chicago, Ill., The University of Chicago Press Contributing Library: Boston Public Library Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Public Library View Book Page: Book Viewer About This Book: Catalog Entry View All Images: All Images From Book Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book. Text Appearing Before Image: served and very complete skeletons ofdifferent species of ichthyosaurs from the Jurassic deposits ofWiirtemberg, in which remains of these animals occur in great 112 WATER REPTILES OF THE PAST AND PRESENT profusion. His researches, and those of several authors since then,supplementing and confirming or disproving those of the manyobservers made during the preceding seventy years, have finallydetermined almost perfectly the complete structure of the moretypical ichthyosaurs, enabling us to infer not a little as to theirhabits and distribution in the old Jurassic oceans. Within thepast few years the discoveries of Professor J. C. Merriam of Cali-fornia have likewise added greatly to our knowledge of the earlierichthyosaurs. It may now truthfully be said that of no group ofextinct reptiles do we have a more complete and satisfactory knowl-edge than of the ichthyosaurs. Nevertheless we have yet very much more to learn about theorder Ichthyosauria as a whole—whence they came and how they Text Appearing After Image: Fig. 52.—Ichthyosaurus quadricissus.museum, from Dr. Dreverman. Photograph of specimen in Senckenberg originated; what their nearest kin were among other reptiles; andespecially, more about the connecting links between them andterrestrial reptiles. They have, as an order, so isolated a position,are so widely separated from all other reptiles in structure, that theyhave long been a puzzle to paleontologists. Like the whales andother cetaceans among mammals, we know the ichthyosaurs wellin the plenitude of their power and the fulness of their development,but have yet only an imperfect knowledge of their earlier history,and none whatever of their earliest. However, as will be seenfarther on, the recent discoveries by Merriam have shed much lighton some of the stages of their evolution. So nearly perfectly wereall the later ichthyosaurs adapted to their life in the water that itwas believed by nearly all paleontologists until about a score of years ICHTHYOSAURIA 3 ago that they had desc Note About Images Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original work.

Jurassic Ichthyosauria Stenopterygiidae skeleton
Utatsusaurus hataii, an Early Triassic Ichthyosaur from Japan, pencil drawing
Taxa Grippiidae

Utatsusaurus hataii, an Early Triassic Ichthyosaur from Japan, pencil drawing

drawing Japan Early Triassic Triassic +4
Skull of the Middle Triassic North-American ichthyosaur Cymbospondylus petrinus, preserved in three dimensions. This specimen is cataloged under the number UCMP 9913. More information is available from the source link.
Taxa Hueneosauria

Skull of the Middle Triassic North-American ichthyosaur Cymbospondylus petrinus, preserved in three dimensions. This specimen is cataloged under the number UCMP 9913. More information is available from the source link.

museum Middle Triassic Triassic specimen +5
Skull of the Middle Triassic North-American ichthyosaur Cymbospondylus petrinus, preserved in three dimensions. This specimen is cataloged under the number UCMP 9913. More information is available from the source link.
Taxa Longipinnati

Skull of the Middle Triassic North-American ichthyosaur Cymbospondylus petrinus, preserved in three dimensions. This specimen is cataloged under the number UCMP 9913. More information is available from the source link.

museum Middle Triassic Triassic specimen +5
Ichthyosauria
Taxa Ichthyosauria
Ichthyosauria
Bituminous claystone, Lower Jurassic, Hesselberg, Middle Franconia.
Sedimentary rock of very thin laminated layers (particles less than 0,0002 mm).

Rock formation is known for its rich fossil findings, ex. Ichthyosaur.
Formations Posidonia Shale

Bituminous claystone, Lower Jurassic, Hesselberg, Middle Franconia. Sedimentary rock of very thin laminated layers (particles less than 0,0002 mm). Rock formation is known for its rich fossil findings, ex. Ichthyosaur.

Jurassic fossil Ichthyosauria formation
Life restoration of the German Jurassic ichthyosaur Suevoleviathan disinteger. The dorsal and caudal fins are loosely based on those of Stenopterygius.
References
Maisch, M.W. (2020). "The best-preserved skeleton of Suevoleviathan integer (Bronn, 1844)(Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the lower Jurassic of south-western Germany, with a discussion of the genus". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 297 (2): 153–172.
Maisch, M.W. (1998). "A new ichthyosaur genus from the Posidonia Shale (Lower Toarcian, Jurassic) of Holzmaden, SW-Germany with comments on the phylogeny of post-Triassic ichthyosaurs". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie-Abhandlungen 209 (1): 47–78.

Life restoration of the German Jurassic ichthyosaur Suevoleviathan disinteger. The dorsal and caudal fins are loosely based on those of Stenopterygius. References Maisch, M.W. (2020). "The best-preserved skeleton of Suevoleviathan integer (Bronn, 1844)(Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the lower Jurassic of south-western Germany, with a discussion of the genus". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 297 (2): 153–172. Maisch, M.W. (1998). "A new ichthyosaur genus from the Posidonia Shale (Lower Toarcian, Jurassic) of Holzmaden, SW-Germany with comments on the phylogeny of post-Triassic ichthyosaurs". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie-Abhandlungen 209 (1): 47–78.

Germany Posidonia Shale Jurassic Toarcian +6
Highly derived mosasaur from the Moreno Formation that could grow to large sized. Converges with basal ichthyosaurs in bauplan- and has tuna-like swimming motion.

Highly derived mosasaur from the Moreno Formation that could grow to large sized. Converges with basal ichthyosaurs in bauplan- and has tuna-like swimming motion.

Ichthyosauria Plotosaurus formation
Precious opal replacing Ichthyosaur backbone; display specimen, South Australian Museum.
 Original filename = P2211104.JPG

Precious opal replacing Ichthyosaur backbone; display specimen, South Australian Museum. Original filename = P2211104.JPG

museum specimen Ichthyosauria Platypterygius
Phylogeny of the Ichthyosauria according to Fischer et al. 2012.

Phylogeny of the Ichthyosauria according to Fischer et al. 2012.

Ichthyosauria Platypterygius phylogeny
Phylogeny of Ichthyosauria. Thin lines represent ghost lineages, thick black lines indicate the stratigraphic range of a species. Thick grey lines refer to the stratigraphic range of the corresponding genus.

Phylogeny of Ichthyosauria. Thin lines represent ghost lineages, thick black lines indicate the stratigraphic range of a species. Thick grey lines refer to the stratigraphic range of the corresponding genus.

Ichthyosauria Platypterygius phylogeny
Ichthyosaur Skeleton, Platypterygius longmani, in The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory at Darwin.

Ichthyosaur Skeleton, Platypterygius longmani, in The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory at Darwin.

museum Ichthyosauria Platypterygius skeleton
Ichthyosaurus wervel (Platypterygius, Lêegr Kryt, teegn Darwin, Noord Australië).

Ichthyosaurus wervel (Platypterygius, Lêegr Kryt, teegn Darwin, Noord Australië).

Ichthyosauria Platypterygius
Holotype specimen TMP 2000.29.01 of the ophthalmosaurian ichthyosaur Athabascasaurus bitumineus from the Lower Cretaceous Clearwater Formation of Alberta, in Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada.

Holotype specimen TMP 2000.29.01 of the ophthalmosaurian ichthyosaur Athabascasaurus bitumineus from the Lower Cretaceous Clearwater Formation of Alberta, in Royal Tyrrell Museum, Drumheller, Alberta, Canada.

museum Canada Cretaceous holotype +5
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News

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He was believed to be king of the oceans in the Jurassic: a pierced vertebra recounts a fight of extreme violence
bone tooth vertebra hunting museum Jurassic fossil Ichthyosauria Ichthyosaurus Pliosaurus behavior
Forgotten for more than a century in the drawers of a museum, a fossil has now resurfaced and recounts a scene of extreme violence in the Jurassic oceans. An ichthyosaur vertebra, marked by the impact of a broken tooth, perhaps reveals the attack of one of the most formidable...
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Un gigantesque « dragon des mers » vieux de 180 millions d’années découvert au Royaume-Uni
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United Kingdom fossil Ichthyosauria discovery
180 million years under our feet. A colossal ichthyosaur fossil has just been unearthed in England, and it redraws what we thought we knew about these prehistoric marine reptiles. A discovery that shook the world of British paleontology. 
16/06/2026 futura-terre ⚙ Auto-translated
190-million-year-old “Sword Dragon” fossil rewrites ichthyosaur history
United Kingdom Jurassic fossil Ichthyosauria evolution skeleton
A newly identified ichthyosaur from the UK’s Jurassic Coast is rewriting part of the prehistoric playbook. Nicknamed the “Sword Dragon of Dorset,” the three-meter-long marine reptile lived during a poorly understood window of evolution when major ichthyosaur groups were disappearing and new ones emerging. Its beautifully preserved skeleton — complete with a blade-like snout and possible last meal — helps pinpoint when this dramatic transition occurred.
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