Undorosaurus

Undorosaurus
Undorosaurus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Ichthyosauria
Family: †Ophthalmosauridae
Genus: †Undorosaurus
Efimov, 1999
Species: †U. gorodischensis
Binomial name
Undorosaurus gorodischensis
Efimov, 1999
Synonyms

Ophthalmosaurus gorodischensis Maisch & Matzke, 2000

Undorosaurus is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur known from Ul'yanovsk Province of western Russia.[1]

Description

Undorosaurus is known from the holotype UPM EP-II-20 (527), a partial three-dimensionally preserved skeleton which preserved partial skull. It was collected near the Volga river at Gorodische from the Epivirgatites nikitini ammonoid zone, dating to the Late Jurassic.[1]

Maisch and Matzke (2000) regarded Undorosaurus to be a species of Ophthalmosaurus.[2] However, Storrs et al. 2000 rejected this synonymy based on the tooth morphology of the specimen.[3] Chris McGowan and Ryosuke Motani (2003) pointed out two noteworthy differences to Ophthalmosaurus, an incompletely fused ischiopubis and a remarkably strong dentition, and considered Undorosaurus to be a valid genus of ophthalmosaurid.[4] Undorosaurus's validity is now accepted by most authors, even by Maisch (2010) who originally proposed the synonymy.[5][6][7]

Etymology

Undorosaurus was named by Vladimir M. Efimov in 1999 and the type species is Undorosaurus gorodischensis. The specific name is named after Gorodische, the type locality of this taxon.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Vladimir M. Efimov (1999). "A new family of Ichthyosaurs, the Undorosauridae fam. nov. from the Volgian stage of the European part of Russia". Paleontological Journal 33 (2): 174–181. 
  2. ^ Michael W. Maisch and Andreas T. Matzke (2000). "The Ichthyosauria". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde: Serie B 298: 1–159. http://www.naturkundemuseum-bw.de/stuttgart/pdf/b_pdf/B298.pdf. 
  3. ^ Storrs, Glenn W.; Vladimir M. Efimov and Maxim S. Arkhangelsky (2000). "Mesozoic marine reptiles of Russia and other former Soviet republics". In Benton, M.J.; Shishkin, M.A.; and Unwin, D.M.. The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 140–159. ISBN 052154582X, 9780521545822. 
  4. ^ McGowan C, Motani R. 2003. Ichthyopterygia. – In: Sues, H.-D. (ed.): Handbook of Paleoherpetology, Part 8, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, 175 pp., 101 figs., 19 plts; München
  5. ^ Michael W. Maisch (2010). "Phylogeny, systematics, and origin of the Ichthyosauria – the state of the art". Palaeodiversity 3: 151–214. http://www.palaeodiversity.org/pdf/03/Palaeodiversity_Bd3_Maisch.pdf. 
  6. ^ Fischer, V.; A. Clement, M. Guiomar and P. Godefroit (2011). "The first definite record of a Valanginian ichthyosaur and its implications on the evolution of post-Liassic Ichthyosauria". Cretaceous Research 32 (2): 155–163. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2010.11.005. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667110001114. 
  7. ^ Fischer, V.; Masure, E.; Arkhangelsky, M.S.; and Godefroit, P. (2011). "A new Barremian (Early Cretaceous) ichthyosaur from western Russia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31 (5): 1010–1025. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.595464. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2011.595464. 
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