List of ichthyosaurs

This list of ichthyosaurs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the order Ichthyosauria or the parent clade Ichthyopterygia, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (nomen dubium), or were not formally published (nomen nudum), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered ichthyopterygian. Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygians shall be noted as such.

1 Scope and terminology
2 The List
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Scope and terminology

There is no official, canonical list of ichthyosaur genera but one of the most thorough attempts can be found at the "Ichthyosauromorpha" section of Mikko Haaramo's Phylogeny Archive.^[1]

Naming conventions and terminology follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Technical terms used include:

Junior synonym: A name which describes the same taxon as a previously published name. If two or more genera are formally designated and the type specimens are later assigned to the same genus, the first to be published (in chronological order) is the senior synonym, and all other instances are junior synonyms. Senior synonyms are generally used, except by special decision of the ICZN, but junior synonyms cannot be used again, even if deprecated. Junior synonymy is often subjective, unless the genera described were both based on the same type specimen.
Nomen nudum (Latin for "naked name"): A name that has appeared in print but has not yet been formally published by the standards of the ICZN. Nomina nuda (the plural form) are invalid, and are therefore not italicized as a proper generic name would be. If the name is later formally published, that name is no longer a nomen nudum and will be italicized on this list. Often, the formally published name will differ from any nomina nuda that describe the same specimen. In this case, these nomina nuda will be deleted from this list in favor of the published name.
Preoccupied name: A name that is formally published, but which has already been used for another taxon. This second use is invalid (as are all subsequent uses) and the name must be replaced. As preoccupied names are not valid generic names, they will also go unitalicized on this list.
Nomen dubium (Latin for "dubious name"): A name describing a fossil with no unique diagnostic features. As this can be an extremely subjective and controversial designation, this term is not used on this list.

The List

Genus	Authors	Year	Status	Age	Location	Notes
Aegirosaurus^[2]	Bardet Fernández	_in_paleontology.html" title="2000 in paleontology">2000	Valid.	uJ.^[2]	Europe.^[2]	A 2 meter long^[2] ophthalmosaurid^[3] whose remains were discovered in the Solnhofen limestone and mistaken for a new Ichthyosaurus species. In _in_paleontology.html" title="2000 in paleontology">2000 scientists concluded that the fossil material should be assigned to a new genus.
Anhuisaurus^[1]	Chen	_in_paleontology.html" title="1985 in paleontology">1985	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Preoccupied by lizard genus Anhuisaurus Hou, 1974. Junior synonym of Chaohusaurus.
Besanosaurus^[4]	Dal Sasso Pinna	_in_paleontology.html" title="1996 in paleontology">1996	Valid.	mT.^[4]	Europe.^[4]
Brachypterygius^[5]^[6]	von Huene	_in_paleontology.html" title="1922 in paleontology">1922	Valid.	uJ.^[5]	Europe.^[7]^[8]	A uJ Ophthalmosaurid closely related to Platypterygius and Caypullisaurus.^[3] Fossils have been found in England and European Russia.^[7]^[8]
Californosaurus^[5]^[9]	Kuhn	_in_paleontology.html" title="1934 in paleontology">1934	Valid.	uT.^[5]	N. America.	A 3 meter teretocnemid who is also the basal-most known Euichthyosaurian. Its remains were first recovered from the Carnian Lower Hosselkus Limestone of California. Californosaurus has also been known as Shastasaurus perrini and Delphinosaurus perrini.
Callawayia^[10]	Maische Matzke	_in_paleontology.html" title="2000 in paleontology">2000	Valid.
Caypullisaurus^[5]^[6]	Fernández	_in_paleontology.html" title="1997 in paleontology">1997	Valid.	uJ.^[5] to lK.	S. America.	A large ophthalmosaurid closely related to Platypterygius and Brachypterygius.^[3] It was discovered in strata dating to the uJ - lK of Argentina.
Chacaicosaurus^[9]	Fernández	_in_paleontology.html" title="1994 in paleontology">1994	Valid.		S. America.^[8]	A Bajocian genus whose fossils have been found in Argentina.^[8] Possibly a stenopterygiid.
Chaohusaurus^[5]^[1]	Young Dong	_in_paleontology.html" title="1972 in paleontology">1972	Valid.	lT.^[5]	Asia.	A primitive ichthyosaur that retained a lizard-like body discoverered in Chaohu, China. It was also one of the smallest ichthyosaurs, being from 70 to 180 cm long and an estimated weight of 10 kg.
Chensaurus^[5]^[1]	Mazin Suteethorn Buffetaut Jaeger Helmcke-Ingavat	_in_paleontology.html" title="1991 in paleontology">1991	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Chaohusaurus.
Chonespondylus^[5]	Leidy	_in_paleontology.html" title="1868 in paleontology">1868	Valid.	mT.^[5]
Contectopalatus^[11]	Maische Matzke	_in_paleontology.html" title="1998 in paleontology">1998	Disputed.	mT.^[11]	Europe.^[11]	A strange mT mixosaurid with a high crest of bone on its head and a 5 meter body. It was thought to be a Mixosaurus species for some time until given its own genus in _in_paleontology.html" title="1998 in paleontology">1998. Some experts have felt that the splitting was unjustified.
Cymbospondylus^[5]^[10]	Leidy	_in_paleontology.html" title="1868 in paleontology">1868	Valid.	lT.^[5] to mT.^[5]		One of the largest ichthyosaurs, adults ranged in length from 6 m (18 ft) up to 10 m (30 ft) long. It was one of the least fish-like of the ichthyosaurs, lacking a dorsal fin and fluked tail. Consequently, Cymbospondylus probably swam by wriggling its body from side to side like a modern sea snake.
Delphinosaurus^[5]	Merriam	_in_paleontology.html" title="1905 in paleontology">1905	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Californosaurus.
Eurhinosaurus^[5]^[9]	Abel	_in_paleontology.html" title="1909 in paleontology">1909	Valid.	lJ.^[5]	Europe.	A genus exceeding 6 m in length^[8] from the Sinemurian to Toarcian of England and Germany. Eurhinosaurus was built like a regular ichthyosaur, with a fish-like body including a large eyes, dorsal and caudal fins, but had one distinct feature that set it apart from other ichthyosaurs; its upper jaw was twice as long as the lower jaw and covered with sidewards-pointing 'teeth', like a sawfish's.
Eurypterygius	Jaekel	_in_paleontology.html" title="1904 in paleontology">1904	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ichthyosaurus.
Excalibosaurus	McGowan	_in_paleontology.html" title="1986 in paleontology">1986	Valid.	lJ.^[5]		Lived during the Sinemurian stage in what is now England. It is characterized by the extreme elongation of the rostrum, giving the animal a swordfish-like look. Excalibosaurus is known from two skeletons. The holotype was from a juvenile with an estimated body length of 4 m. The estimated body length of the second specimen, discovered in 1996, is 7 m.
Grendelius^[5]	McGowan	_in_paleontology.html" title="1976 in paleontology">1976	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Brachypterygius.
Grippia^[5]^[1]	Wiman	_in_paleontology.html" title="1930 in paleontology">1930	Valid.	lT.^[5]	Asia. Greenland. Japan. N. America.	A small ichthyosaur only 1-1.5 m long, its fossils have been found along the coasts of Greenland, China, Japan, and Canada.
Guizhouichthyosaurus	Cao Luo	_in_paleontology.html" title="2000 in paleontology">2000	Valid.
Himalayasaurus	Young Dong	_in_paleontology.html" title="1972 in paleontology">1972	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Shonisaurus.
Hudsonelpidia	McGowan	_in_paleontology.html" title="1995 in paleontology">1995	Valid.	uT.^[5]
Hupehsuchus^[1]	Carroll Dong	_in_paleontology.html" title="1991 in paleontology">1991	Valid.	mT.	Asia.	Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygian from the mT of China. The type species is H. nanchangensis.
Ichthyosaurus^[5]^[9]	De la Beche Conybeare	_in_paleontology.html" title="1821 in paleontology">1821	Valid.	lJ.^[5]
Isfjordosaurus	Motani	_in_paleontology.html" title="1999 in paleontology">1999	Valid.			Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygian.
Leptocheirus	Merriam	_in_paleontology.html" title="1903 in paleontology">1903	Valid.
Leptonectes	McGowan	_in_paleontology.html" title="1996 in paleontology">1996	Valid.		Europe.^[8]	Lived from the Rhaetian to Pliensbachian in what is now Belgium, England and Germany.^[8]
Leptopterygius	Huene	_in_paleontology.html" title="1922 in paleontology">1922	Valid.	uT.^[5] to lJ.^[5]
Macgovania	Motani	_in_paleontology.html" title="2000 in paleontology">2000	Valid.
Macropterygius	Huene	_in_paleontology.html" title="1923 in paleontology">1923	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Aegirosaurus.
Maiaspondylus^[6]	Maxwell Caldwell	_in_paleontology.html" title="2006 in paleontology">2006	Valid.	uK.^[6]	N. America.^[6]
Merriamia^[5]	Boulenger	_in_paleontology.html" title="1904 in paleontology">1904	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Toretocnemus.
Metashastasaurus	Nicholls Manabe	_in_paleontology.html" title="2001 in paleontology">2001	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Callawayia.
Mikadocephalus^[10]^[12]	Maisch Matzke	_in_paleontology.html" title="1998 in paleontology">1998	Valid.		Europe.^[12]
Mixosaurus^[5]^[10]	Baur	_in_paleontology.html" title="1887 in paleontology">1887	Valid.	mT.^[5]
Mollesaurus	Fernandez	_in_paleontology.html" title="1999 in paleontology">1999	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ophthalmosaurus.
Myopterygius	von Huene	_in_paleontology.html" title="1922 in paleontology">1922	Syn.			Synonymy of Platypterygius
Nanchangosaurus	Wang	_in_paleontology.html" title="1959 in paleontology">1959	Valid.	mT.^[5]
Nannopterygius	Huene	_in_paleontology.html" title="1922 in paleontology">1922	Valid.	uJ.^[5]	Europe.	Nannopterygius is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived in from the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian. Fossils have been found in England and Germany.^[8]
Omphalosaurus	Merriam	_in_paleontology.html" title="1906 in paleontology">1906	Valid.	lT.	Europe.	An extinct genus of marine reptile from Spitsbergen. Is has been considered an ichthyopterygian, however a study by Motani in 2000 showed that it lacks the basal synapomorphies of Ichthyopterygia. As such, its exact position in the diapsid tree is currently unknown.
Ophthalmosaurus^[6]	Seeley	_in_paleontology.html" title="1874 in paleontology">1874	Valid.	mJ.^[5] to uJ.^[5]	Europe. N. America. S. America.^[6]
Otschevia	Efimov	_in_paleontology.html" title="1997 in paleontology">1997	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Brachypterygius.
Paraophthalmosaurus	Arkhangelsky	_in_paleontology.html" title="1997 in paleontology">1997	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ophthalmosaurus.
Parvinatator	Nicholls Brinkman	_in_paleontology.html" title="1995 in paleontology">1995	Valid.			Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygian.
Pessopteryx	Wiman	_in_paleontology.html" title="1910 in paleontology">1910	Valid.
Pessosaurus	Wiman	_in_paleontology.html" title="1910 in paleontology">1910	Valid.	mT.^[5]
Phalarodon	Merriam	_in_paleontology.html" title="1910 in paleontology">1910	Valid.	mT.^[5]	Asia.^[13]
Phantomosaurus^[5]	Maisch Matzke	_in_paleontology.html" title="2000 in paleontology">2000	Valid.
Platypterygius	Kuhn	_in_paleontology.html" title="1946 in paleontology">1946	Valid.	uK.^[5]
Plutonisaurus	Efimov	_in_paleontology.html" title="1997 in paleontology">1997	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Platypterygius.
Proteosaurus	Home	_in_paleontology.html" title="1819 in paleontology">1819	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ichthyosaurus.
Protoichthyosaurus	Appleby	_in_paleontology.html" title="1979 in paleontology">1979	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ichthyosaurus.
Qianichthyosaurus	Li	_in_paleontology.html" title="1999 in paleontology">1999	Valid.
Sangiorgiosaurus	Brinkmann	_in_paleontology.html" title="1998 in paleontology">1998	Valid.
Shastasaurus	Merriam	_in_paleontology.html" title="1895 in paleontology">1895	Valid.	uT.^[5]	N. America.	Shastasaurus is a genus of ichthyosaur from whose remains have been found in California and Mexico.
Shonisaurus	Camp	_in_paleontology.html" title="1976 in paleontology">1976	Valid.	uT.^[5]	?Asia. N. America.	The largest genus of ichthyosaur that has yet been found. Fossils of Shonisaurus were first found in Nevada in 1920. It lived during the Norian stage of the late Triassic period and had a long pointed mouth that contained teeth only at the front end. S. popularis specimens reached a length of 15 meters (50 feet). A second species, S. sikanniensis, was later discovered in British Columbia and has an estimated length of 21 meters (70 feet).
Simbirskia	Otschev Efimov	_in_paleontology.html" title="1985 in paleontology">1985	Valid.
Simbirskiasaurus	Otschev Efimov	_in_paleontology.html" title="1985 in paleontology">1985	Valid.	lK.^[5]
Stenopterygius	Jaekel	_in_paleontology.html" title="1904 in paleontology">1904	Valid.	lJ.^[5]	Europe.	Lived from the Toarcian to Aalenian from England, France, Germany and Luxembourg. Maximum length was 4 m.^[8] One famous fossil is that of a mother and baby that died in childbirth. This proved that ichthyosaur infants were born tail-first, just like cetaceans, to prevent them from drowning before fully clearing the birth canal.
Suevoleviathan	Maisch	_in_paleontology.html" title="1998 in paleontology">1998	Valid.
Svalbardosaurus	Mazin	_in_paleontology.html" title="1981 in paleontology">1981	Nomen dubium.^[1]	lT.^[5]
Temnodontosaurus	Lydekker	_in_paleontology.html" title="1889 in paleontology">1889	Valid.	lJ.^[5]	Europe.	Lived from the Hettangian to Toarcian in England and Germany. It was a large genus, exceeded 12 meters (30 ft) in length.^[8] Temnodontosaurus eyes were approximately 20 cm (8 in) in diameter making them the largest of any known vertebrate.
Thaisaurus	Mazin Sutetthorn Buffetaut Jaeger Helmcke-Ignavat	_in_paleontology.html" title="1991 in paleontology">1991	Valid.			Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygian.
Toretocnemus	Merriam	_in_paleontology.html" title="1902 in paleontology">1902	Valid.	uT.^[5]
Undorosaurus	Efimov	_in_paleontology.html" title="1997 in paleontology">1997	Jr. synonym.	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ophthalmosaurus.
Utatsusaurus^[5]^[1]	Shikoma	_in_paleontology.html" title="1978 in paleontology">1978	Valid.	lT.^[5]		Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygian.
Wimanius	Maisch Matzke	_in_paleontology.html" title="1988 in paleontology">1988	Valid.