Aegirosaurus

Taxobox
name = "Aegirosaurus"
fossil_range = Late Jurassic
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
ordo = Ichthyosauria
familia = Ophthalmosauridae
genus = "Aegirosaurus"
binomial = "Aegirosaurus leptospondylus"
binomial_authority = (Wagner, 1853) Bardet & Fernandez, 2000

"Aegirosaurus " is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur, a fish-like marine reptile, from the Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) of Bavaria, Germany. Its remains were discovered in the Solnhofen limestone formations, the same formations that have yielded numerous well-known fossils, such as "Archaeopteryx", "Compsognathus" and "Pterodactylus".

Discovery and species

Originally described by Wagner (1853) as "Ichthyosaurus leptospondylus", it has had an unstable taxonomic history. It has also been named "Ichthyosaurus trigonus posthumus", and identified with "Macropterygius" and "Brachypterygius extremus". In 2000 Bardet and Fernández concluded that the fossil material should be assigned to a new genus, "Aegirosaurus".Bardet N, Fernández M. 2000. A new ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic lithographic limestones of Bavaria."Journal of Paleontology" 74 (3): 503-511.] The name means 'Aegir (teutonic god of the ocean) lizard with slender vertebrae'.

Within Ophthalmosauridae, "Aegirosaurus" is most closely related to "Ophthalmosaurus".Fernández M. 2007. Redescription and phylogenetic position of "Caypullisaurus" (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae). "Journal of Paleontology" 81 (2): 368-375.]

Palaeobiology

It was a small genus of ichthyosaur, with adults being less than two metres in length.

References