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Information about Ichthyopterygia

Ichthyopterygians
Fossil range: Early Triassic - Late Cretaceous
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Ichthyosaurus

Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Sauropsida
Subclass:Euryapsida
Superorder:Ichthyopterygia
Owen, 1840
Orders
Ichthyopterygia ("fish flippers") was a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1840 to designate the Jurassic Ichthyosaurs that were known at the time, but the term is now used more often for both true Ichthyosauria and their more primitive early and middle Triassic ancestors (Motani 1997, Motani et al. 1998).

Basal ichthyopterygians (prior to and ancestral to true Ichthyosauria) were mostly small (a meter or less in length) with elongate bodies and long spool shaped vertebrae, indicating that they swam in a sinuous eel-like manner. This allowed for quick movements and maneouverability that were an advantage in shallow-water hunting (Motani 2000). Even at this early stage they were already very specialised animals with proper flippers, and would have been incapable of movement on land.

These animals seem to have been widely distributed around the coast of the northern half of Pangea, as they are known the Late Olenekian and Early Anisian (early part of the Triassic period) of Japan, China, Canada, and Spitsbergen (Norway). By the later part of the Middle Triassic they were extinct, having been replaced by their descendents the true ichthyosaurs.

Taxonomy

Phylogeny

Cladogram after Motani (1998, 1999) and Nicholls & Manabe (2001).

NeodiapsidaSauria `-?Ichthyopterygia?Hupehsuchus?Thaisaurus?''Isfjordosaurus'UtatsusaurusParvinatator `--EoichthyosauriaGrippidae `--Ichthyosauria?Mikadocephalus?WimaniusCymbospondylus `--+--Mixosauridae `--Merriamosauria+-?Mixosaurus | `--+-?Cymbospondylus | `--Shastasauridae `--EuichthyosauriaTeretocnemidae `--+--Californosaurus `--ParvipelviaMacgovania `--+--Hudsonelpidia `--+--Suevoleviathan `--+--TemnodontosaurusEurhinosauridae `--Thunnosauria?Chacaicosaurus?MollesaurusStenopterygius `--+--Ichthyosaurus `--Ophthalmosauridae

References

  • Ellis, Richard, (2003) Sea Dragons - Predators of the Prehistoric Oceans. University Press of Kansas
  • McGowan, C & Motani, R. (2003) Ichthyopterygia, Handbook of Paleoherpetology, Part 8, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil
  • Motani, R. (1997), Temporal and spatial distribution of tooth implantation in ichthyosaurs, in JM Callaway & EL Nicholls (eds.), Ancient Marine Reptiles. Academic Press. pp. 81-103.
  • Motani, R. (2000), Rulers of the Jurassic Seas, Scientific American vol.283, no. 6
  • Motani, R., Minoura, N. & Ando, T. (1998), Ichthyosaurian relationships illuminated by new primitive skeletons from Japan. Nature 393: 255-257.

External links

The Early Triassic (also known as Lower Triassic, Buntsandstein, or Scythian) is the first of three epochs of the Triassic period. It spans the time between 251 ± 0.4 Ma and 245 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago).
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Late Cretaceous (100mya - 65mya) refers to the second half of the Cretaceous Period, named after the famous white chalk cliffs of southern England, which date from this time. Rocks deposited during the Late Cretaceous Period are referred to as the Upper Cretaceous Series.
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Ichthyosauridae
de la Beche & Conybeare, 1821

Genus: Ichthyosaurus
de la Beche & Conybeare, 1821

Species
  • I. breviceps Owen, 1881
  • I. communis (type)
  • I.

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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Sauropsida*
Goodrich, 1916

Subclasses
  • Anapsida
  • Diapsida
Synonyms
  • Reptilia Laurenti, 1768
Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class
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Euryapsida is a polyphyletic (unnatural, as the various members are not closely related) group of reptiles that are distinguished by a single opening behind the orbit (temporal fenestra) under which the post orbital and squamosal bones articulate.
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Sir Richard Owen KCB (July 20 1804–December 18 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist. He was widely regarded as malicious and dishonest but he was also one of the most brilliant and influential biologists of his time.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1810s  1820s  1830s  - 1840s -  1850s  1860s  1870s
1837 1838 1839 - 1840 - 1841 1842 1843

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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order (Latin: ordo, plural ordines) is a rank between class and family (termed a taxon at that rank). The superorder is a rank between class and order. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Code which applies.
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Ichthyosauria
Blainville, 1835

Families
  • Ichthyosauridae
  • Leptonectidae
  • Mixosauridae
  • Ophthalmosauridae
  • Shastasauridae
  • Stenopterygiidae
  • Teretocnemidae
Ichthyosaurs (Greek for 'fish lizard' -
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Sir Richard Owen KCB (July 20 1804–December 18 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist. He was widely regarded as malicious and dishonest but he was also one of the most brilliant and influential biologists of his time.
..... Click the link for more information.
Ichthyosauria
Blainville, 1835

Families
  • Ichthyosauridae
  • Leptonectidae
  • Mixosauridae
  • Ophthalmosauridae
  • Shastasauridae
  • Stenopterygiidae
  • Teretocnemidae
Ichthyosaurs (Greek for 'fish lizard' -
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The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 to 199 Ma (million years ago). As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events.
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In phylogenetics, basal members of a group diverged earlier than a subgroup of others (or vice versa). It is often used in opposition to the word derived. The following are example usages of the term basal:....
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The Vertebral Column (singular: vertebra) are the individual irregular bones that make up the spinal column (aka ischis) — a flexuous and flexible column.
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Anguilliformes

Suborders
See text for suborders and families.
True eels (Anguilliformes) are an order of fish, which consists of 4 suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and 400 species. Most eels are predators.
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Pangaea or Pangæa (IPA: /pænˈdʒiːə/[1], from παν, pan, meaning entire, and γαια, gaia, meaning Earth
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The Olenekian (also known as the Yongningzhenian) is a stage of the Early Triassic epoch. It spans the time between 249.7 ± 0.7 Ma and 245 ± 0.7 Ma (million years ago).
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Anisian is the age of the Middle Triassic epoch of the Triassic period of the Mesozoic era of the Fanerozoic eon that is comprehended between 245 million and 237 million years ago, approximately.
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The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 251 to 199 Ma (million years ago). As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events.
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Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.
China (Traditional Chinese:
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Spitsbergen<nowiki />

Map of Svalbard, showing Spitsbergen in the West.

Geography <nowiki/>
Location Svalbard, Arctic Ocean
Coordinates Coordinates:
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Motto
Royal: Alt for Norge ("Everything for Norway")
1814 Eidsvoll oath: Enige og tro til Dovre faller
("United and faithful until the mountains of Dovre crumble")

Anthem
Ja, vi elsker

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Utatsusauridae
McGowan & Motani, 2003

Genus: Utatsusaurus

Binomial name
Utatsusaurus hataii
Shikama, Kamei & Murata, 1978

Utatsusaurus
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Ichthyosauria
Blainville, 1835

Families
  • Ichthyosauridae
  • Leptonectidae
  • Mixosauridae
  • Ophthalmosauridae
  • Shastasauridae
  • Stenopterygiidae
  • Teretocnemidae
Ichthyosaurs (Greek for 'fish lizard' -
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Cladistics is a philosophy of classification that arranges organisms only by their order of branching in an evolutionary tree and not by their morphological similarity, in the words of Luria et al. (1981).
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