Ichthyosaurs are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia.
Shonisaurus is a genus of very large ichthyosaurs. At least 37 incomplete fossil specimens of the marine reptile have been found in the Luning Formation of Nevada, USA. This formation dates to the late Carnian age of the late Triassic period, about 237–227 million years ago.
Eurhinosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian), ranging between 183 and 175 million years. Fossils of the aquatic reptile have been found in Western Europe. They used to live in the deep, open sea area. Eurhinosaurus was a large genus of ichthyosaurs. An adult individual could reach up to 7 metres (23 ft) in length.
Shastasauridae is an extinct family of Triassic ichthyosaurs that includes the genera Shastasaurus, Shonisaurus and Himalayasaurus. Many other Triassic ichthyosaurs have been assigned to Shastasauridae in the past, but recent phylogenetic analyses suggest that these species form an evolutionary grade of early ichthyosaurs rather than a true clade or evolutionary grouping that can be called Shastasauridae.
Chaohusaurus is an extinct genus of basal ichthyopterygian, depending on definition possibly ichthyosaur, from the Early Triassic of Chaohu and Yuanan, China.
Delphinosaurus is a dubious genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from Albian-Cenomanian deposits in the Kursk region of European Russia.
Plutoniosaurus is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur of uncertain validity from the Early Cretaceous of the vicinity of Ulyanovsk, European Russia.
Shastasaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the middle and late Triassic. Specimens have been found in the United States, Canada, and China.
Omphalosaurus is an extinct genus of marine reptile from the Early Triassic to Middle Triassic, thought to be in the order of Ichthyosauria. Most of what is known about Omphalosaurus is based on multiple jaw fragments, ribs, and vertebrae. Specimens of Omphalosaurus have been described from the western United States, Poland, Austria and the island of Spitsbergen off the northern coast of Norway.
Callawayia is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur. It contains the species Callawayia neoscapularis.
Guizhouichthyosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur which is known primarily from the Xiaowa Formation of the lower Carnian stage of the Late Triassic in southwest China. The type species of this genus is Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae, of which multiple skeletons are known. It has been reassigned as a species of the genus Shastasaurus in the past, though it has since been considered distinct. The ichthyosaurs Cymbospondylus asiaticus, named in 2002, and Panjiangsaurus epicharis, named in 2003, are junior synonyms of G. tangae. The genus is also known from the Ladinian-aged Middle Triassic Zhuganpo Formation; additionally, the species "Callawayia" wollongangense may belong to Guizhouichthyosaurus.
Hudsonelpidia is an extinct genus of small parvipelvian ichthyosaur known from British Columbia of Canada.
Parvinatator, from Latin, “parvus” little and “natator” swimmer, is an extinct genus of small ichthyopterygian marine reptile that lived during the Early to Middle Triassic. Its fossils have been found in British Columbia, Canada.
Phalarodon is an extinct genus of mixosaurid ichthyosaur known from the Middle Triassic. Its name is derived from the Greek φάλαρα (phálara) and odon ("tooth"). The genus has had a tumultuous history since its classification in 1910, with different workers describing species under different genera or declaring the genus to be a nomen dubium. Currently three species are recognized, but more have been identified in the past.
Qianichthyosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Ladinian and Carnian stages of the Late Triassic epoch. Its fossils have been found in southeastern China, in Carnian rocks of the Falang Formation near Huangtutang, Guizhou. The type species is Qianichthyosaurus zhoui, named by Chun Li in 1999. A second species, Qianichthyosaurus xingyiensis, was named from older (Ladinian) deposits in the Falang Formation in 2013 by Pengfei Yang and colleagues. Complete Qianichthyosaurus fossils are common in the Xiaowa Formation, with both juveniles and pregnant specimens being known; its larger contemporaries, Guizhouichthyosaurus and Guanlingsaurus, are rarer.
Toretocnemus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur. Its remains have been found in California, United States, in Triassic layers of the Carnian Hosselkus Limestone.
Macgowania is an extinct genus of parvipelvian ichthyosaur known from British Columbia of Canada.
Parvipelvia is an extinct clade of euichthyosaur ichthyosaurs that existed from the Late Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous of Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Named by Ryosuke Motani, in 1999, it contains the basal taxa like Macgowania and Hudsonelpidia. Maisch and Matzke (2000) found in their analysis seven synapomorphies that support Parvipelvia. They also found 10 synapomorphies that support the existence of post-Triassic clade of ichthyosaurs, for which the name Neoichthyosauria was found to be available. Parvipelvians were the only ichthyosaurs to survive the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event.
The Hueneosauria are a group of Ichthyosauria, living during the Mesozoic.
This timeline of ichthyosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ichthyosauromorphs, a group of secondarily aquatic marine reptiles whose later members superficially resembled dolphins, sharks, or swordfish. Scientists have documented ichthyosaur fossils at least as far back as the late 17th century. At that time, a scholar named Edward Lhwyd published a book on British fossils that misattributed some ichthyosaur vertebrae to actual fishes; their true nature was not recognized until the 19th century. In 1811, a boy named Joseph Anning discovered the first ichthyosaur fossils that would come to be scientifically recognized as such. His sister Mary would later find the rest of its skeleton and would go on to become a respected fossil collector and paleontologist in her own right.
