A revision of the Longipinnate Ichthyosaurs of the Lower Jurassic of England, with descriptions of two new species (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria)

McGowan, Christopher

doi:10.5962/bhl.title.52055

Cited by 31 publications

(70 citation statements)

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“…This differs from some leptonectids such as Leptonectes (e.g. McGowan 1974; McGowan 1993) and Excalibosaurus (McGowan 2003), and from thunnosaurian ichthyosaurs (Motani 1999). The right tibia and fibula are visible.…”

mentioning

confidence: 77%

“…obs.) and preserved gut content of T. platyodon , T. trigonodon and T. eurycephalus indicate that these taxa occupied an apex predator niche (McGowan 1974; Massare 1987; Böttcher 1989; Godefroit 1996; McGowan 1996), whereas T. azerguensis is best regarded as a hunter of small and soft prey, even if the feeding ecology of other edentulous ichthyosaurs has been interpreted as suction feeding (Nicholls and Manabe 2004; and discussion in Sander et al. 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A longirostrine Temnodontosaurus (Ichthyosauria) with comments on Early Jurassic ichthyosaur niche partitioning and disparity

et al. 2012

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Abstract:We describe an almost complete ichthyosaur skeleton from the middle Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) of the Beaujolais foothills near Lyon, France, and assign it to Temnodontosaurus azerguensis sp. nov. This new species exhibits cranial peculiarities such as a thin, elongated and possibly edentulous rostrum, as well as a reduced quadrate. These characters indicate dietary preferences that markedly differ from other species referred to Temnodontosaurus, a genus previously considered as the top predator of the Early Jurassic seas. Despite a conservative postcranial skeleton, we propose that Temnodontosaurus is one of the most ecologically disparate genera of ichthyosaurs, including apex predators and now a soft prey longirostrine hunter. Ammonites collected from the same stratigraphic level as the described specimen indicate that the new species is somewhat younger (bifrons ammonite zone) than the most known Toarcian ichthyosaurs and therefore slightly postdates the interval of severe environmental changes and marine invertebrate extinctions known as the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event. The present study therefore raises the question of whether postcrisis recovery of vertebrate faunas, including the radiation of Temnodontosaurus into a new ecological niche, may have been a consequence of marine ecosystem reorganization across this event.

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confidence: 77%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A longirostrine Temnodontosaurus (Ichthyosauria) with comments on Early Jurassic ichthyosaur niche partitioning and disparity

et al. 2012

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“…Taxonomic assignments of ichthyosaurs can rely on comparative ratios of the lengths of various skull elements (McGowan 1974, 1976, 1986). However, the Strawberry Bank specimens lack many key skull elements, and the orbital length and snout length ratios can be obtained only from specimens BRLSI M1399 and M1401 (Table S1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ichthyosauria from the Upper Lias of Strawberry Bank, England

Caine

Benton

2011

Palaeontology

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Eight remarkably preserved specimens of ichthyosaurs from the lower Toarcian (Lower Jurassic) of Strawberry Bank (Ilminster, Somerset, England) are described fully for the first time. Whereas previously these ichthyosaurs were assigned to one species, Stenopterygius hauffianus, our study shows there are two, Stenopterygius triscissus and Hauffiopteryx typicus. S. triscissus is a small-to mediumsized ichthyosaur up to 3.5 m long, characterised by three apomorphies: long and slender rostrum, large elliptical supratemporal fenestra and bipartite pelvis. H. typicus is a small ichthyosaur up to 2.95 m long, with five apomorphies: short and extremely slender rostrum, very large orbit, small rounded supratemporal fenestra and tripartite pelvis, which is fused distally. Cladistic analysis is equivocal about their relationships, suggesting either that Hauffiopteryx and perhaps also Stenopterygius are members of a clade Eurhinosauria or that this clade does not exist, and both genera are members of a wider clade Thunnosauria. Further, the clade Stenopterygiidae, in which Hauffiopteryx had been located, is not identified. Most striking is that the specimens are all juveniles (five specimens) or infants (three specimens), ranging from one-tenth to one-half the normal adult length of the species.

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“…Later re-examination showed that the fish remains to belong to the Liassic holostean Pholidophorus, and identified numerous dibranchiate cephalopod hooklets (Pollard 1968). Large vertebrate remains including fish and small ichthyosaurs have been recorded as gut contents in some Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens (McGowan 1974). Cephalopods, however, represent the dominant component of most ichthyosaur gastric residues from Lyme Regis and Holtzmaden (see Pollard 1968;Keller 1976;Massare 1987;Bö ttcher 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unusual gut contents in a Cretaceous ichthyosaur

Kear

Boles

Smith

2003

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Despite ichthyosaurs being one of the most extensively studied Mesozoic marine reptile groups, there is little documented direct evidence of dietary habits in most taxa. Here, we report the discovery of hatchling-sized marine protostegid turtle remains and an enantiornithine bird (in association with actinopterygian fish and phosphatic nodules) within the body cavity of a gravid female ichthyosaur (Platypterygius longmani ) from the Lower Cretaceous of Australia; this is the first evidence, to our knowledge, of feeding by ichthyosaurs upon both turtles and birds. The exceptionally preserved gut contents show little evidence of digestion, suggesting consumption shortly before the ichthyosaur's death. Poor swimming ability may have made hatchling turtles easy prey that could have been either swallowed whole or processed by shake feeding. Ingestion of bird remains probably occurred through scavenging. Opportunistic feeding on vertebrates is at odds with existing interpretations of dietary habits in Cretaceous ichthyosaurs, which favour predation primarily upon cephalopods. Such specialization is considered a contributing factor in the group's ultimate extinction. However, the evidence here that at least some forms were able to use a wide range of available food types suggests that the decline of ichthyosaurs in the mid-Cretaceous may be linked to other factors such as competition with ecologically analogous pursuit predators.

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A revision of the Longipinnate Ichthyosaurs of the Lower Jurassic of England, with descriptions of two new species (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria)

Cited by 31 publications

References 1 publication

A longirostrine Temnodontosaurus (Ichthyosauria) with comments on Early Jurassic ichthyosaur niche partitioning and disparity

A longirostrine Temnodontosaurus (Ichthyosauria) with comments on Early Jurassic ichthyosaur niche partitioning and disparity

Ichthyosauria from the Upper Lias of Strawberry Bank, England

Unusual gut contents in a Cretaceous ichthyosaur

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