Californosaurus References

Californosaurus; Temporal range: 237–210 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Middle-Late Triassic
	Holotype skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Subclass:	Diapsida
Order:	† Ichthyopterygia
Suborder:	† Merriamosauria
Family:	†Californosauridae
Genus:	†Californosaurus; Kuhn, 1934
Binomial name
	†Californosaurus perrini; Kuhn, 1934
Synonyms
	Shastasaurus perrini Merriam, 1902;

Californosaurus ('California lizard') is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur, an extinct marine reptile, from the Lower Hosselkus Limestone ( Carnian, Late Triassic) of California, and also the Muschelkalk ( Ladinian, Middle Triassic) of Germany.^[1]

Taxonomy

Merriam (1902) described it as a new species of Shastasaurus, S. perrini.^[2] He later recognized the species as generically distinct from the Shastasaurus type species, erecting Delphinosaurus for S. perrini. However, Delphinosaurus had been previously used for an ophthalmosaurid from Albian-Cenomanian deposits in European Russia, and Kuhn (1934) provided the generic replacement name Californosaurus. Merriam (1938) independently erected Perrinosaurus to replace Delphinosaurus, but this is a junior objective synonym.^[3]^[4]

Description

The long-snouted head is small in comparison with the rest of the body, as in basal ichthyosaurs such as Mixosaurus and Cymbospondylus.^[5] The tail is sharply turned downwards, in common with more advanced ichthyosaurs, with a small vertical fluke. It may have had a small dorsal fin. There is a small number of pre-sacral vertebrae (45 or 50). The phalanges (digit bones) are circular and widely spaced, giving the flipper a round appearance. It was a medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring up to 3 m (9.8 ft) long.^[6]

Biology

It fed on fish and other small marine creatures. Like other ichthyosaurs it probably never ventured onto dry land, and gave birth in the water.

References

^ von Huene, Friedrich (1916). "Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Ichthyosaurier im deutschen Muschelkalk". Palaeontographica (in German). 62. Tübingen: 1–68.
^ Merriam, J. C. (1902). "Triassic Ichthyopterygia from California and Nevada". Bulletin of the Department of Geology of the University of California. 3 (4): 63–108.
^ Hilton, R. P., 2003, Dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles of California: University of California Press, 318pp.
^ Kuhn, O., 1934. Ichthyosauria: Fossilium Catalogous, 1: Animalia, p. 1-75.
^ M. W. Maisch. (2010). Phylogeny, systematics, and origin of the Ichthyosauria - the state of the art. Palaeodiversity 3:151-214
^ Michael W. Maisch and Andreas T. Matzke (2000). "The Ichthyosauria" (PDF). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde: Serie B. 298: 1–159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18.