Tanystropheus is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile which lived during the Triassic Period in Europe, Asia, and North America. It is recognisable by its extremely elongated neck, longer than the torso and tail combined. The neck was composed of 13 vertebrae strengthened by extensive cervical ribs. Tanystropheus is one of the most well-described non-archosauriform archosauromorphs, known from numerous fossils, including nearly complete skeletons. Some species within the genus may have reached a total length of 6 meters (20 ft), making Tanystropheus the longest non-archosauriform archosauromorph as well. Tanystropheus is the namesake of the family Tanystropheidae, a clade collecting many long-necked Triassic archosauromorphs previously described as "protorosaurs" or "prolacertiforms".
Nothosaurs were Triassic marine sauropterygian reptiles. They averaged about 3 metres (10 ft) in length, with a long body and tail. The feet were paddle-like, and are known to have been webbed in life, to help power the animal when swimming. The neck was quite long, and the head was elongated and flattened, and relatively small in relation to the body. The margins of the long jaws were equipped with numerous sharp outward-pointing teeth, indicating a diet of fish and squid.
Nothosaurus is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile from the Triassic period, approximately 240–210 million years ago, with fossils being distributed throughout the former Tethys Ocean, from North Africa and Europe to China. It is the best known member of the nothosaur order.
Cymbospondylus is an extinct genus of large ichthyosaurs, of which it is among the oldest representatives, that lived from the Lower to Middle Triassic in what are now North America and Europe. The first known fossils of this taxon are a set of more or less complete vertebrae which were discovered in the 19th century in various mountain ranges of Nevada, in the United States, before being named and described by Joseph Leidy in 1868. It is in the beginning of the 20th century that more complete fossils were discovered through several expeditions launched by the University of California, and described in more detail by John Campbell Merriam in 1908, thus visualizing the overall anatomy of the animal. While many species have been assigned to the genus, only five are recognized as valid, the others being considered synonymous, doubtful or belonging to other genera. Cymbospondylus was formerly classified as a representative of the Shastasauridae, but more recent studies consider it to be more basal, view as the type genus of the Cymbospondylidae.
Lariosaurus is an extinct genus of nothosaurid from the Middle Triassic of central and western Europe and China. With a complete specimen of L. xingyiensis measuring 70.5 cm (2.3 ft) long and L. hongguoensis possibly measuring up to 80 cm (2.6 ft) long, it was one of the smallest known nothosaurs. First discovered at Perledo on the Lake Como in 1830, it was named in 1847 by Curioni, its name meaning "Lizard from Larius", the ancient name of the lake. This makes it one of the earliest studied reptiles from the Alps. It is known from an almost complete skeleton holotype and several other fairly complete fossils.
Monte San Giorgio is a Swiss mountain and UNESCO World Heritage Site near the border between Switzerland and Italy. It is part of the Lugano Prealps, overlooking Lake Lugano in the Swiss Canton of Ticino.
Besanosaurus is a extinct genus of Middle Triassic ichthyosaur from Monte San Giorgio of Italy and Switzerland, containing the single species B. leptorhynchus. Besanosaurus was named by Cristiano Dal Sasso and Giovanni Pinna in 1996, based on the nearly complete flattened skeleton BES SC 999, the holotype specimen. This skeleton is preserved across multiple thin rock slabs spanning 3.5 by 4 metres when assembled and took thousands of hours to prepare. Additional specimens from Monte San Giorgio that have previously been considered separate genera, including a partial skull named Mikadocephalus and a well-preserved, largely complete skeleton, have been reinterpreted as additional specimens of Besanosaurus. Putative specimens of Besanosaurus have been discovered in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and Germany, although their attribution to this genus remains disputed.
Serpianosaurus is an extinct genus of pachypleurosaurs known from the Middle Triassic deposits of Switzerland and Germany. It was a small reptile, with the type specimen of S. mirigiolensis measuring 75 cm (2.46 ft) long.
Ctenognathichthys is an extinct genus of prehistoric marine ray-finned fish that lived during the Middle Triassic epoch of Europe, in the former Tethys Ocean.
Meridensia is an extinct genus of prehistoric ray-finned fish that lived during the Anisian and Ladinian ages of the Middle Triassic epoch in what is now southern Switzerland and northern Italy. Fossils were recovered from the Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio and Besano area at the Swiss-Italian boundary.
Helveticosaurus is an extinct genus of diapsid marine reptile known from the Middle Triassic of southern Switzerland. It contains a single species, Helveticosaurus zollingeri, known from the nearly complete holotype T 4352 collected at Cava Tre Fontane of Monte San Giorgio, an area well known for its rich record of marine life during the Middle Triassic.
Wimanius is a genus of ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic of Switzerland, containing a single species, Wimanius odontopalatus. It was described by Michael Maisch and Andreas Matzke in 1998 based on an incomplete skull from Monte San Giorgio, a mountain on the Swiss-Italian border. Wimanius possesses teeth on its palate, though whether they were located on the palatine or pterygoid is disputed. Other features of Wimanius include a large orbit and jugals with two rami of similar lengths. Different phylogenetic placements of Wimanius have been recovered by different studies, including it being a mixosaurid relative or a merriamosaur, and a monotypic family, Wimaniidae has been named for it. However, its validity has also been questioned, and synonymy with various other genera has been proposed. The only specimen of Wimanius come from the Besano Formation. During the Anisian, this region was a lagoon populated by a wide variety of marine life, including a variety of other ichthyosaurs.
Nothosauridae are an extinct family of carnivorous aquatic sauropterygian reptiles from the Triassic time period of China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, and northern Africa.
Largocephalosaurus is an extinct genus of basal saurosphargid, a marine reptile known from the Middle Triassic Guanling Formation of Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, southwestern China. It contains a type species, Largocephalosaurus polycarpon, and a second species L. qianensis.
Blezingeria is an extinct genus of marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of Germany. The type and only species Blezingeria ichthyospondyla was named by German paleontologist Eberhard Fraas in 1896. It is known from many isolated bones that come from a deposit in southwestern Germany called the Upper Muschelkalk, which dates back to the Ladinian stage. The relationships of Blezingeria are uncertain. Fraas identified it as a nothosaur, but it has also been classified as a cymbospondylid ichthyosaur, and most recently a thalattosaur. Many thalattosaur fossils have been found in a slightly olderLate Ladinian-age rock unit in Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland, so if Blezingeria is a thalattosaur, it may represent an early stage in an evolutionary radiation of the group across the Tethys, an ocean that covered much of what is now Europe and southern China during the Triassic. However, since Blezingeria is known from very incomplete material, its classification as a thalattosaur remains uncertain.
Kwangsisaurus is an extinct genus of a basal pistosauroid known from the Early or Middle Triassic of Guangxi, southern China. It contains a single species, Kwangsisaurus orientalis.
Silvestrosaurus is an extinct aquatic genus of lariosaurine nothosaurid sauropterygian known from the Middle Triassic of Monte San Giorgio, southern Switzerland. It contains a single species, Silvestrosaurus buzzii, originally considered to be a species of the closely related Lariosaurus. The species was named by Tschanz in 1989, based solely on the holotype PIMUZ T/2804 comprising the skull, the lower jaw, and a dis-articulated partial postcranial skeleton. Cyamodus hildegardis tooth bearing elements were found in the stomach region of the specimen. The holotype was collected at Punkt 902 of Monte San Giorgio, from layer 97 of the Grenzbitumen zone, dating to the Anisian-Ladinian boundary of the Middle Triassic. Kuhn-Schnyner (1990) reassigned the species to its own genus, creating the combination S. buzzii. The generic name honors a church near the collection locality of the holotype, dedicated to Saint Sylvester, a Pope during the reign of Constantine the Great, and from Greek saurus, meaning "lizard", a common suffix for genus names of extinct reptile.
Eusaurosphargis is an extinct genus of a diapsid reptile, known from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of northern Italy and Prosanto Formation of south-eastern Switzerland. It contains a single species, Eusaurosphargis dalsassoi. It was a small reptile, measuring 20 cm (7.9 in) long.
Helveticosauridae is an extinct family of basal marine reptiles known from the Middle Triassic of southern Switzerland and northern Italy.
The Besano Formation is a geological formation in the southern Alps of northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland. This formation, a thin but fossiliferous succession of dolomite and black shale, is famous for its preservation of Middle Triassic (Anisian–Ladinian) marine life including fish and aquatic reptiles. It is exposed in the Monte San Giorgio and Besano area. It is among the formations responsible for the area being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Switzerland, it is also known as the Grenzbitumenzone. The Anisian-Ladinian boundary lies in the upper part of the Besano Formation.
