Caypullisaurus

Caypullisaurus
Temporal range: Tithonian-Berriasian
~150–140.2 Ma
Dakosaurus (right) pursuing a Caypullisaurus (left)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Ichthyosauria
Family: Ophthalmosauridae
Subfamily: Platypterygiinae
Genus: Caypullisaurus
Fernández, 1997
Species:
C. bonapartei
Binomial name
Caypullisaurus bonapartei
Fernández, 1997

Caypullisaurus is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous (Tithonian and Berriasian stages) of Argentina. Its holotype was collected from the Vaca Muerta Formation of Cerro Lotena, Neuquen, dating to the early Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic, about 150 million years ago. Caypullisaurus was first named by Marta Fernández in 1997 and the type species is Caypullisaurus bonapartei. It was a large ichthyosaur, measuring about 7 m (23 ft) long.[1][2]

  1. ^ Fernández, M.S. (1997). "A new Ichthyosaur from the Tithonian (Late Jurassic) of the Neuquen Basin, Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina". Journal of Paleontology. 71 (3): 479–484. Bibcode:1997JPal...71..479F. doi:10.1017/S0022336000039494.
  2. ^ Gasparini, Z.; Fernández, M. (2005). "Jurassic marine reptiles of the Neuquén Basin: records, faunas and their palaeobiogeographic significance". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 252 (1): 279–294. Bibcode:2005GSLSP.252..279G. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2005.252.01.14.