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Ophthalmosaurian (Ichthyosauria) records from the Aalenian–Bajocian of Patagonia (Argentina): an overview

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2013

MARTA S. FERNÁNDEZ  and
MARIANELLA TALEVI
MARTA S. FERNÁNDEZ*
Affiliation:
División Palaeontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900 La Plata, Argentina. CONICET
MARIANELLA TALEVI
Affiliation:
Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, 8332 General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina. CONICET
*
†Author for correspondence: martafer@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar
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Abstract

The oldest ophthalmosaurian records worldwide have been recovered from the Aalenian–Bajocian boundary of the Neuquén Basin in Central-West Argentina (Mendoza and Neuquén provinces). Although scarce, they document a poorly known period in the evolutionary history of parvipelvian ichthyosaurs. In this contribution we present updated information on these fossils, including a phylogenetic analysis, and a redescription of ‘Stenopterygius grandis’ Cabrera, 1939. Patagonian ichthyosaur occurrences indicate that during the Bajocian the Neuquén Basin palaeogulf, on the southern margins of the Palaeopacific Ocean, was inhabited by at least three morphologically discrete taxa: the slender Stenopterygius cayi, robust ophthalmosaurian Mollesaurus periallus and another indeterminate ichthyosaurian. Rib bone tissue structure indicates that rib cages of Bajocian ichthyosaurs included forms with dense rib microstructure (Mollesaurus) and forms with an ‘osteoporotic-like’ pattern (Stenopterygius cayi).

Keywords

Mollesaurus‘Stenopterygius grandis’Middle JurassicNeuquén BasinArgentina
Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 151 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 49 - 59
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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