Cryopterygius

Summary

Cryopterygius (meaning 'frozen fin' in Greek) is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from the uppermost Jurassic of Central Spitsbergen, Norway. The type species, Cryopterygius kristiansenae , is known from a single, but largely complete specimen from the Slottsmøya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation (middle Volgian/late Tithonian, Late Jurassic). With a total length of 5–5.5 metres (16–18 ft), it is a large ichthyosaur.[1] A second species, C. kielanae, was found in the Kcynia Formation from the Late Jurassic of Poland. It is smaller than the type species, with a length of 3.5–4 metres (11–13 ft).[2]

Cryopterygius
Temporal range: Tithonian
~150–145 Ma
Skull bones of C. kielanae
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Ichthyosauria
Family: Ophthalmosauridae
Genus: Cryopterygius
Druckenmiller et al., 2012
Type species
Cryopterygius kristiansenae
Druckenmiller et al., 2012
Forefin of C. kielanae

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Patrick S. Druckenmiller; Jørn H. Hurum; Espen M. Knutsen; Hans Arne Nakrem (2012). "Two new ophthalmosaurids (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Agardhfjellet Formation (Upper Jurassic: Volgian/Tithonian), Svalbard, Norway". Norwegian Journal of Geology. 92 (2–3): 311–339. ISSN 1502-5322. Low resolution pdf Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine High resolution pdf Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Daniel Tyborowski (2016). "A new ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic of Owadów-Brzezinki Quarry, Poland". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. in press. doi:10.4202/app.00252.2016.

External links edit

  Media related to Cryopterygius at Wikimedia Commons