Ophthalmosaurian (Ichthyosauria) records from the Aalenian–Bajocian of Patagonia (Argentina): an overview

• Autores: Fernández, Marta S.; Talevi, Marianella
• Año de publicación: 2014
• Idioma: inglés
• Tipo de recurso: artículo
• Materia: Mollesaurus; ‘Stenopterygius grandis’; Middle Jurassic; Neuquén Basin; Argentina
• Institución: Universidad Nacional de Río Negro

Fil: Fernández, Marta S. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Museo de La Plata. División Paleontología de Vertebrados. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Fil: Talevi, Marianella. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología. Río Negro, Argentina.
Fil: Fernández, Marta S. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Fil: Talevi, Marianella. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The oldest ophthalmosaurian records worldwide have been recovered from the Aalenian-Bajocian boundary of the Neuquén Basin in Central-West Argentina (Mendoza and Neuquén provinces). Although scarce, they document a poorly known period in the evolutionary history of parvipelvian ichthyosaurs. In this contribution we present updated information on these fossils, including a phylogenetic analysis, and a redescription of 'Stenopterygius grandis' Cabrera, 1939. Patagonian ichthyosaur occurrences indicate that during the Bajocian the Neuquén Basin palaeogulf, on the southern margins of the Palaeopacific Ocean, was inhabited by at least three morphologically discrete taxa: the slender Stenopterygius cayi, robust ophthalmosaurian Mollesaurus periallus and another indeterminate ichthyosaurian. Rib bone tissue structure indicates that rib cages of Bajocian ichthyosaurs included forms with dense rib microstructure (Mollesaurus) and forms with an 'osteoporotic-like' pattern (Stenopterygius cayi).
The oldest ophthalmosaurian records worldwide have been recovered from the Aalenian-Bajocian boundary of the Neuquén Basin in Central-West Argentina (Mendoza and Neuquén provinces). Although scarce, they document a poorly known period in the evolutionary history of parvipelvian ichthyosaurs. In this contribution we present updated information on these fossils, including a phylogenetic analysis, and a redescription of 'Stenopterygius grandis' Cabrera, 1939. Patagonian ichthyosaur occurrences indicate that during the Bajocian the Neuquén Basin palaeogulf, on the southern margins of the Palaeopacific Ocean, was inhabited by at least three morphologically discrete taxa: the slender Stenopterygius cayi, robust ophthalmosaurian Mollesaurus periallus and another indeterminate ichthyosaurian. Rib bone tissue structure indicates that rib cages of Bajocian ichthyosaurs included forms with dense rib microstructure (Mollesaurus) and forms with an 'osteoporotic-like' pattern (Stenopterygius cayi).