Caypullisaurus

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Caypullisaurus
Temporal range: Tithonian-Berriasian
~150–140.2  Ma
Caypullisaurus Dak1.jpg
Dakosaurus (right) pursuing a Caypullisaurus (left)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Ichthyosauria
Family: Ophthalmosauridae
Subfamily: Platypterygiinae
Genus: Caypullisaurus
Fernández, 1997
Species:
C. bonapartei
Binomial name
Caypullisaurus bonapartei
Fernández, 1997

Caypullisaurus is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous (Tithonian and Berriasian stages) of Argentina. Its holotype was collected from the Vaca Muerta Formation of Cerro Lotena, Neuquen, dating to the early Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. Caypullisaurus was first named by Marta Fernández in 1997 and the type species is Caypullisaurus bonapartei. It was a large ichthyosaur, measuring about 7 m (23 ft) long. [1] [2]

Contents

Classification

It is a member of the family Ophthalmosauridae, and closely related to Platypterygius and Brachypterygius . [3] In 2012, Caypullisaurus was found to be most closely related to Athabascasaurus and "Platypterygius" australis, and to nest within the subfamily Platypterygiinae. [4]

Phylogeny

The following cladogram shows a possible phylogenetic position of Caypullisaurus in Ophthalmosauridae according to the analysis performed by Zverkov and Jacobs (2020). [5]

Ophthalmosauria
Ophthalmosaurinae
Platypterygiinae


See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Ophthalmosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Ophthalmosaurus is a genus of ichthyosaur known from the Middle-Late Jurassic. Possible remains from the earliest Cretaceous, around 145 million years ago, are also known. It was a relatively medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring 4 m (13 ft) long and weighing 940 kg (2,070 lb). 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.

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.

Plutoniosaurus is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur of uncertain validity from the Early Cretaceous of the vicinity of Ulyanovsk, European Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ophthalmosauridae</span> Extinct family of reptiles

Ophthalmosauridae is an extinct family of thunnosaur ichthyosaurs from the Middle Jurassic to the early Late Cretaceous worldwide. Almost all ichthyosaurs from the Middle Jurassic onwards belong to the family, until the extinction of ichthyosaurs in the early Late Cretaceous. Ophthalmosaurids 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 restricted to the group typically referred to as Ophthalmosaurinae, with classic Platypterygiinae instead being referred to as Undorosauridae or Brachypterygiidae and Ophthalmosauria being used to unite these two groups.

<i>Brachypterygius</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Brachypterygius is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from the Late Jurassic of England. The type species was originally described and named as Ichthyosaurus extremus by Boulenger in 1904. Brachypterygius was named by Huene in 1922 for the width and shortness of the forepaddle, and the type species is therefore Brachypterygius extremus. The holotype of B. extremus was originally thought to be from the Lias Group of Bath, United Kingdom, but other specimens suggest it more likely came from the Kimmeridgian Kimmeridge Clay of Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, UK.

<i>Undorosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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 4–6 metres (13–20 ft) long.

Mollesaurus is an extinct genus of large ophthalmosaurine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from northwestern Patagonia of Argentina.

<i>Nannopterygius</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Nannopterygius is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Fossils are known from England, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Norway and six species are currently assigned to the genus.

<i>Chacaicosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Chacaicosaurus is a genus of neoichthyosaurian ichthyosaur known from the Middle Jurassic of Argentina. The single known specimen of this genus was excavated from the Los Molles Formation in Neuquén Province, and is housed at the Museo Olsacher under the specimen number MOZ 5803. This specimen consists of a skull, forelimb, some vertebrae, and some additional postcranial elements. The genus was named by Marta Fernández in 1994, and contains a single species, Chacaicosaurus cayi, making it the first named distinctive ichthyosaur from the Bajocian stage. It is a medium-sized ichthyosaur with a very long snout, which bears a ridge running along each side. The forelimbs of Chacaicosaurus are small and contain four main digits.

<i>Grendelius</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Grendelius is a genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian) of the UK and European Russia. It was a medium-sized ichthyosaur measuring about 4 metres (13 ft) long.

<i>Maiaspondylus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Maiaspondylus is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs known from Northwest Territories of Canada, the Cambridge Greensand of England and the Voronezh Region of Russia.

Simbirskiasaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. Its type specimen is YKM 65119, a fragmentary skull and vertebral column.

<i>Arthropterygius</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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.

Sveltonectes is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs known from Ul’yanovsk region, western Russia.

<i>Acamptonectes</i> Extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from England and Germany

Acamptonectes is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs, a type of dolphin-like marine reptiles, that lived during the Early Cretaceous around 130 million years ago. The first specimen, a partial adult skeleton, was discovered in Speeton, England, in 1958, but was not formally described until 2012 by Valentin Fischer and colleagues. They also recognised a partial subadult skeleton belonging to the genus from Cremlingen, Germany, and specimens from other localities in England. The genus contains the single species Acamptonectes densus; the generic name means "rigid swimmer" and the specific name means "compact" or "tightly packed".

Muiscasaurus is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived in modern Colombia during the Early Cretaceous. The only known species is the type Muiscasaurus catheti.

<i>Keilhauia</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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 4 metres (13 ft) in length; it can be distinguished by other ophthalmosaurids by the wide top end of its ilium and the relatively short ischiopubis compared to the femur. Although it was placed in a basal position within the Ophthalmosauridae by phylogenetic analysis, this placement is probably incorrect.

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.

Acuetzpalin is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur found in the Kimmeridgian La Casita Formation in Mexico. It is known from a partial skeleton, of which the skull is surprisingly well preserved. Its length is estimated to have been more than 3.1 metres (10 ft) long, considering the missing parts of the holotype. It was the first ichthyosaur described in 2020 and the first new ichthyosaur genus described since 2017.

References

  1. Fernández, M.S. (1997). "A new Ichthyosaur from the Tithonian (Late Jurassic) of the Neuquen Basin, Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina". Journal of Paleontology. 71 (3): 479–484. Bibcode:1997JPal...71..479F. doi:10.1017/S0022336000039494.
  2. Gasparini, Z.; Fernández, M. (2005). "Jurassic marine reptiles of the Neuquén Basin: records, faunas and their palaeobiogeographic significance". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 252 (1): 279–294. Bibcode:2005GSLSP.252..279G. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.252.01.14.
  3. Fernández M. 2007. Redescription and phylogenetic position of Caypullisaurus (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae). Journal of Paleontology81 (2): 368-375.
  4. Valentin Fischer; Michael W. Maisch; Darren Naish; Ralf Kosma; Jeff Liston; Ulrich Joger; Fritz J. Krüger; Judith Pardo Pérez; Jessica Tainsh; Robert M. Appleby (2012). "New Ophthalmosaurid Ichthyosaurs from the European Lower Cretaceous Demonstrate Extensive Ichthyosaur Survival across the Jurassic–Cretaceous Boundary". PLOS ONE. 7 (1): e29234. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...729234F. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029234 . PMC   3250416 . PMID   22235274.
  5. Nikolay G. Zverkov & Megan L. Jacobs (2021) [2020]. "Revision of Nannopterygius (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae): reappraisal of the 'inaccessible' holotype resolves a taxonomic tangle and reveals an obscure ophthalmosaurid lineage with a wide distribution". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 191 (1): 228–275. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa028.