Qianichthyosaurus
| Qianichthyosaurus Temporal range: Upper Triassic | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Ichthyosauria |
| Family: | Toretocnemidae |
| Genus: | Qianichthyosaurus Li, 1999 |
| Species | |
| |
Qianichthyosaurus is an extinct genus of Ichthyosaur from the late Triassic (Carnian) period. Its fossils have been found in southeastern China[1] in the Falang formation near Huangtutang in the province of Guizhou. It has similar characteristics with the ichthyosaur Toretocnemus, that comes from the United States, that together they form the family of the Toretocnemidae. This species is much smaller than the usual ichthyosaur, it was two meters in corporal longitude, with a shorter nose, large ocular orbits, and a much larger neural spine from the tail to the torso.
The type species is Qianichthyosaurus zhoui. The holotype is specimen IVPP V11839.
References
- ↑ New Material of Qianichtyosaurus Li, 1999 (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria) from the late Triassic of southern China, and Implications for the Distribution of Triassic Ichthyosaurs. Elizabeth L. Nicholls, Chen Wei, Makoto Manabe.
- X. Wang, G. H. Bachmann, H. Hagdorn, P. M. Sanders, G. Cuny, X. Chen, C. Wang, L. Chen, L. Cheng, F. Meng, and G. Xu. 2008. The Late Triassic black shales of the Guanling area, Guizhou province, south-west China: a unique marine reptile and pelagic crinoid fossil lagerstätte. Palaeontology 51(1):27–61