A new upper jurassic ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Slottsmoya Member, Agardhfjellet formation of central Spitsbergen.

ABSTRACT: Abundant new ichthyosaur material has recently been documented in the Slottsmøya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation from the Svalbard archipelago of Norway. Here we describe a partial skeleton of a new taxon, Janusaurus lundi, that includes much of the skull and representative portions of the postcranium. The new taxon is diagnosed by a suite of cranial character states including a very gracile stapedial shaft, the presence of a dorsal process on the prearticular and autapomorphic postcranial features such as the presence of an interclavicular trough and a conspicuous anterodorsal process of the ilium. The peculiar morphology of the ilia indicates a previously unrecognized degree of morphological variation in the pelvic girdle of ophthalmosaurids. We also present a large species level p

SUBMITTER: Roberts AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4118863 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature