| Caypullisaurus Temporal range: Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Ichthyosauria |
| Family: | †Ophthalmosauridae |
| Genus: | †Caypullisaurus Fernández, 1997 |
| Species: | †C. bonapartei |
| Binomial name | |
| Caypullisaurus bonapartei Fernández, 1997 |
|
Caypullisaurus is an extinct genus of large ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous 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 is a member of the family Ophthalmosauridae, and closely related to Platypterygius and Brachypterygius.[1]