Mixosaurus | |
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Dorsal view of fossil showing top of skull | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | †Ichthyosauria |
Family: | †Mixosauridae |
Subfamily: | †Mixosaurinae |
Genus: | †Mixosaurus Baur, 1887 |
Type species | |
Ichthyosaurus cornalianus (Bassani, 1886)
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Species | |
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Mixosaurus is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic (Anisian to Ladinian, about 250-240 Mya) ichthyosaur. Its fossils have been found near the Italy–Switzerland border and in South China.[1]
The genus was named in 1887 by George H. Baur. The name means "Mixed Lizard", and was chosen because it appears to have been a transitional form between the eel-shaped ichthyosaurs such as Cymbospondylus and the later dolphin-shaped ichthyosaurs, such as Ichthyosaurus. Baur named Mixosaurus as a new genus because its forefin was sufficiently different from that of Ichthyosaurus.[4]
Numerous species have been described within this genus, which was once considered as the most common genus of Triassic ichthyosaurs.[4] The type species is M. cornalianus, and the definitive number of species is debated among researchers.[3]
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