Family
Valid Extinct

Merriamosauridae

Maisch and Matzke 2003

Pessopteryx is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Triassic (Olenekian) of Svalbard, Norway. The genus originally contained four species, P. nisseri, P. arctica, P. pinguis, and P. minor, which were named in 1910 by Carl Wiman. Only P. nisseri is still considered valid; P. arctica and P. pinguis are considered nomina dubia while P. minor was reassigned to the tenuous genus Isfjordosaurus. Omphalosaurus nisseri, Merriamosaurus hulkei, and Rotundopteryx hulkei are all junior synonyms of P. nisseri.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
3
Group
Ichtyosaures
Carnivore nektonic Marine
🦴
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Ichthyosauria Unranked clade
›
Hueneosauria Unranked clade
›
Merriamosauria Unranked clade
›
Merriamosauridae Family
Fossil sites 3 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇸🇯 SJ
3
Geological formations
Sticky Keep
1
Vikinghøgda
1
Temporal distribution
Anisian (246.7–241.464 Ma)
1
Olenekian (249.9–246.7 Ma)
2
Bibliography
Original description
M. W. Maisch and A. T. Matzke. 2003. Observations on Triassic ichthyosaurs. Part X: The Lower Triassic Merriamosaurus from Spitzbergen - additional data on its anatomy and phylogenetic position. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie, Abhandlungen 227(1):93-137 DOI ↗
Bibliography (3)
M. W. Maisch. 2010. Phylogeny, systematics, and origin of the Ichthyosauria - the state of the art. Palaeodiversity 3:151-214
M. W. Maisch and A. T. Matzke. 2002. Observations on Triassic ichthyosaurs. Part IX. The first associated skeletal remains of Merriamosaurus n. g. (Ichthyosauria, Lower Triassic) and their bearing on the systematic position of the Omphalosauria. Neues Jahrbuch fur Geologie und Palaontologie, Abhandlungen 226(1):59-94 DOI ↗
V. de Buffrenil and J. M. Mazin. 1990. Bone histology of the ichthyosaurs: comparative data and functional interpretation. Paleobiology 16(4):435-447