Leptonectes

Leptonectes
Temporal range: Late Triassic - Early Jurassic, Rhaetian–Pliensbachian
skeleton of Leptonectes tenuirostris (NHMUK PV R498)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Ichthyosauria
Family: †Leptonectidae
Genus: †Leptonectes
McGowan, 1996[1]
Species
  • L. moorei McGowan and Milner, 1999[2]
  • L. solei (McGowan, 1993)
  • L. tenuirostris (Conybeare, 1822) (type species)
Synonyms

Leptopterygius Huene, 1929

L. tenuirostris, Royal Ontario Museum
Life restoration

Leptonectes is a genus of ichthyosaur that lived in the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic (Rhaetian - Pliensbachian). Fossils have been found in Belgium, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.[3][4][5] A possible specimen from Switzerland first reported in 2006,[6] has been reclassified as that of Hauffiopteryx.[7] The type species, L. tenuirostris, reached 4 metres (13 ft) long, while L. moorei reached 3 metres (9.8 ft) long; the largest species, L. solei, was approximately 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) long.[8][9]

  1. ^ "Fossilworks: Leptonectes".
  2. ^ "Fossilworks: Leptonectes moorei".
  3. ^ Maisch MW, Matzke AT. 2000. The Ichthyosauria. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie) 298: 1-159
  4. ^ McGowan C, Motani R. 2003. Ichthyopterygia. – In: Sues, H.-D. (ed.): Handbook of Paleoherpetology, Part 8, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, 175 pp., 101 figs., 19 plts; München
  5. ^ Marta S. Fernández; Laura Piñuela; José Carlos García-Ramos (2018). "First report of Leptonectes (Ichthyosauria: Leptonectidae) from the Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian) of Asturias, northern Spain". Palaeontologia Electronica. 21 (2): Article number 21.2.29A. doi:10.26879/802. hdl:11336/85063.
  6. ^ Maisch MW, Reisdorf AG. 2006. Evidence for the longest stratigraphic range of a post-Triassic Ichthyosaur: a Leptonectes tenuirostris from the Pliensbachian (Lower Jurassic) of Switzerland. Geobios 39: 491-505.
  7. ^ Klug, C.; Sivgin, T.; Miedema, F.; Scheffold, B.; Reisdorf, A.G.; Stössel, I.; Maxwell, E.E.; Scheyer, T.M. (2024). "Swiss ichthyosaurs: a review". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 143. 31. doi:10.1186/s13358-024-00327-4. PMC 11366730.
  8. ^ Michael W. Maisch and Andreas T. Matzke (2000). "The Ichthyosauria" (PDF). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde: Serie B. 298: 1–159. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-18.
  9. ^ Martin, J.E.; Vincent, P.; Suan, G.; Sharpe, T.; Hodges, P.; William, M.; Howells, C.; Fischer, V. (2015). "A Mysterious Giant Ichthyosaur from the Lowermost Jurassic of Wales". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 60 (4). Institute of Paleobiology, Polish Academy of Sciences: 837–842. doi:10.4202/app.00062.2014. S2CID 13714078. Supplementary Information