Phantomosaurus
Phantomosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur that lived during the late Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic. Fossils have been found in southern Germany. It was discovered in 1965 and named in 1997 as a species of Shastasaurus by Sander in the rocks of the Upper Muschelkalk.
| Phantomosaurus Temporal range: Triassic, | |
|---|---|
| Vertebrae and ribs | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Ichthyosauria |
| Family: | †Cymbospondylidae |
| Genus: | †Phantomosaurus Maisch and Matzke, 2000 |
| Species: | †P. neubigi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Phantomosaurus neubigi Maisch and Matzke, 2000 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
More recently, in 2005, the braincase was studied by Maisch and Matzke. They found it to be unique among all known ichthyosaurs in terms of braincase morphology. Despite its close relation to many other ichthyosaurs, in particular Cymbospondylus, Phantomosaurus appears to have a very primitive braincase which resembles other diapsids more than other ichthyosaurs.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.