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Cymbospondylus (Shastasauridae: Ichthyosauria) from the Middle Triassic of Spitsbergen: filling a paleobiogeographic gap

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

P. Martin Sander*
Affiliation:
Institute of Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, D-5300 Bonn 1, West Germany

Abstract

The occurrence of the large ichthyosaur Cymbospondylus in the Middle Triassic of Spitsbergen is recognized based on two different specimens. One consists of a semiarticulated string of 17 dorsal vertebrae with associated ribs and the other of an anterior dorsal vertebral centrum and possibly a caudal vertebral centrum. Both specimens can only be identified as Cymbospondylus sp. This record fills a gap in the distribution of Cymbospondylus, establishing this genus as the second most widespread Triassic ichthyosaur after Mixosaurus.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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