Sinosaurosphargis

Sinosaurosphargis is an extinct genus of non-sauropterygian marine reptile known from the lower Middle Triassic (Pelsonian substage, Anisian stage) of Yangmazhai, Luoping County of Yunnan Province, southwestern China. It is known from the holotype IVPP V 17040, which consists of nearly complete skeleton and skull, from the paratype IVPP V 16076, dorsal vertebra, ribs, with osteoderms and gastral rib fragments and from the referred material ZMNH M 8797, a right forelimb. It was found in the new Middle Triassic Lagerstätte of the Guanling Formation. It was first named by Chun Li, Olivier Rieppel, Xiao-Chun Wu, Li-Jun Zhao and Li-Ting Wang in 2011 and the type species is Sinosaurosphargis yunguiensis. The generic name comes from Sino, from China; Sauro, saurian and sphargis, turtle-like (Sphargis is a junior synonym of Dermochelys). The specific name is derived from Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, where the fossils were found. It is closely related to the genus Saurosphargis and is similar in appearance to placodonts.^[1]

Phylogeny

Cladogram after Li et al., 2011:^[1]

Without Ichthyopterygia:

References