Kyhytysuka

Kyhytysuka
Temporal range: Barremian-Aptian
~129.4–112 Ma
Skull of K. sachicarum in the Paleontological Museum in Villa de Leyva, Colombia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Ichthyosauria
Node: Ophthalmosauria
Genus: Kyhytysuka
Cortés et al., 2021
Type species
Kyhytysuka sachicarum
(Páramo, 1997)
Synonyms

Kyhytysuka (IPA: [kɨhɨtɨˈsuka][1]) is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurian ichthyosaur from Early Cretaceous Colombia. The animal was previously assigned to the genus Platypterygius, but given its own genus in 2021. Kyhytysuka was a mid-sized ophthalmosaurian with heterodont dentition and several adaptations suggesting that it was a macropredatory vertebrate hunter living in shallow waters. It contains a single species, Kyhytysuka sachicarum.[2]

  1. ^ "Phonetic transcription of Kyhytysuka, the first Cretaceous hypercarnivorous ichthyosaur". YouTube. 22 November 2021.
  2. '^ Cortés, D.; Maxwell, E.E.; Larsson, H.C.E. (2021). "Re-appearance of hypercarnivore ichthyosaurs in the Cretaceous with differentiated dentition: revision of Platypterygius' sachicarum (Reptilia:Ichthyosauria, Ophthalmosauridae) from Colombia". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 19 (14): 1–34. Bibcode:2021JSPal..19..969C. doi:10.1080/14772019.2021.1989507. S2CID 244512087.