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A new Lower Cretaceous ichthyosaur from Russia reveals skull shape conservatism within Ophthalmosaurinae

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2013

VALENTIN FISCHER ,
MAXIM S. ARKHANGELSKY ,
GLEB N. USPENSKY ,
ILYA M. STENSHIN  and
PASCAL GODEFROIT
VALENTIN FISCHER*
Affiliation:
Geology Department, University of Liège, B-18, Allée du 6 Août, 4000 Liège, Belgium Palaeontology Department, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29, Rue Vautier, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
MAXIM S. ARKHANGELSKY
Affiliation:
Ecology Department, Geological Faculty, Saratov State University, Ulitsa Astrakhanskaya, 83, 410012, Saratov, Russia
GLEB N. USPENSKY
Affiliation:
Natural Science Museum, Ulyanovsk State University, Ulitsa L.Tolstogo, 42, 424320 Ulyanovsk, Russia
ILYA M. STENSHIN
Affiliation:
Ulyanovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore named after I. A. Goncharov, 3/4, Prospekt Novy Venetz, 432601, Ulyanovsk, Russia
PASCAL GODEFROIT
Affiliation:
Palaeontology Department, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29, Rue Vautier, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
*
†Author for correspondence: [email protected]
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Abstract

Ophthalmosaurinae is a recently recognized clade of derived ichthyosaurs (marine reptiles) ranging from the Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) to the late Albian (late Early Cretaceous). Whereas the Middle–Late Jurassic ophthalmosaurine Ophthalmosaurus is often regarded as a hyperspecialized deep diver, very little is known about the anatomy, evolutionary history and ecology of Cretaceous ophthalmosaurines because of the scarcity of the fossils and the lack of well-preserved skull material. Here, we describe the skull of a new basal ophthalmosaurine ichthyosaur, Leninia stellans gen. et sp. nov., from the lower Aptian of western Russia, and compare the ocular characteristics of ophthalmosaurids. Leninia is recovered as a basal ophthalmosaurine; it possesses unique traits such as a star-shaped frontal–parietal suture as well as features previously thought to be unique to Ophthalmosaurus such as a supratemporal–stapes contact. A large sclerotic aperture – significantly larger than in platypterygiine ophthalmosaurids and similar to that of the largest-eyed modern animals (giant and colossal squids) – and reduced dentition appear widespread within ophthalmosaurines. This conservatism suggests ophthalmosaurine ophthalmosaurids occupied similar ecological niche(s) throughout their long evolutionary history.

Keywords

OphthalmosauridaeAptianUlyanovskvisionecology
Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 151 , Issue 1 , January 2014 , pp. 60 - 70
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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