[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300"]Ichthyosaurus. Ichthyosaurus. (Image credit: Heinrich Harder/Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]

This page will show a list of ichthyosaur genera and species, with authorities and relevant references. This list has been created from published sources by the following method:

  1. The recent appraisal by Maisch (2010) was used as a basis.
  2. Valid species named from 2010 onwards (after submission and final editing of Maisch 2010) added.
  3. Comparisons of the arguments were made between Maisch's (2000) and McGowan and Motani's (2003) taxonomy.
  4. Consistency was checked in key references, particularly where taxa were synonymised.

These steps should ensure that all previously named taxa listed here are valid and officially recognised. Newly named taxa will be added as published. Some of the taxa, particularly recent additions, are catalogued in the official database, Zoobank.

For each taxon, the generic name is given in bold, with its authority, followed by a list of species names with authorities and general horizon and locality data. As taxa are added or revised, this page will be kept up to date. It is worth noting that opinions may vary on the status of taxa, but as this is based upon the most recent studies, it should be considered as the current state. A pdf version, with references, is available here: Ichthyosaurspecies_basic_1_1_6. If you have any comments, queries or things you think I should change, please do comment, or email me.

Updates:
2012-09-18 v1.0.1: added Temnodontosaurus azerguensis.
2012-10-01 v1.1: amended Stenopterygius (=Chacaicosaurus) cayi, several references (e.g. Yin et al. 2000), added CC-BY-SA logo and license.
2012-10-01 v1.1.1: added missing Hauffiopteryx.
2012-10-15 v1.1.2: added Cryopterygius kristiansenae and Palvennia hoybergeti.
2013-01-09 v1.1.3: added Thalattoarchon saurophagis.
2013-04-11 v1.1.4: added Leninia stellans.
2013-05-19 v1.1.5: added Malawania anachronus, corrected authority for Eurhinosaurus longirostris and spelling of Guizhouichthyosaurus.
2013-07-24 v1.1.6: added Gulosaurus helmi and Chaohusaurus zhangjiawanensis.

List of valid ichthyosaur genera and species in alphabetical order

Acamptonectes Fischer et al., 2012: Acamptonectes densus Fischer et al., 2012, Lower Cretaceous, England, Germany.

Aegirosaurus Bardet and Fernández, 2000: Aegirosaurus leptospondylus (Wagner 1853), Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous?, Germany, Austria.

Arthropterygius Maxwell, 2010: Arthropterygius chrisorum (Russell, 1993), Upper Jurassic, Canada, Argentina?.

Athabascasaurus Druckenmiller and Maxwell, 2010: Athabascasaurus bitumineus Druckenmiller and Maxwell, 2010, Lower Cretaceous, Canada.

Barracudasauroides Maisch, 2010: Barracudasauroides panxianensis (Jiang et al., 2006), Middle Triassic, China.

Besanosaurus Dal Sasso and Pinna, 1996: Besanosaurus leptorhynchus Dal Sasso and Pinna, 1996, Middle Triassic, Italy, Switzerland.

Brachypterygius Huene, 1922: Brachypterygius extremus (Boulenger, 1904), Upper Jurassic, Engand; Brachypterygius mordax (McGowan, 1976), Upper Jurassic, England; Brachypterygius pseudoscythius (Efimov, 1998), Upper Jurassic, Russia; Brachypterygius alekseevi (Arkhangelsky, 2001), Upper Jurassic, Russia; Brachypterygius cantabridgiensis (Lydekker, 1888a), Lower Cretaceous, England.

Californosaurus Kuhn, 1934: Californosaurus perrini (Merriam, 1902), Upper Triassic USA.

Callawayia Maisch and Matzke, 2000: Callawayia neoscapularis (McGowan, 1994), Upper Triassic, Canada.

Caypullisaurus Fernández, 1997: Caypullisaurus bonapartei Fernández, 1997, Upper Jurassic, Argentina.

Chaohusaurus Young and Dong, 1972: Chaohusaurus geishanensis Young and Dong, 1972, Lower Triassic, China; Chaohusaurus zhangjiawanensis Chen et al., 2013, Lower Triassic, China.

Contectopalatus Maisch and Matzke, 1998b: Contectopalatus atavus (Quenstedt, 1852), Middle Triassic, Germany.

Cryopterygius Druckenmiller et al., 2012: Cryopterygius kristiansenae Druckenmiller et al., 2012, Upper Jurassic, Svalbard.

Cymbospondylus Leidy, 1868: Cymbospondylus piscosus Leidy, 1868, Middle Triassic, USA; Cymbospondylus petrinus Leidy, 1868 (questionable), Middle Triassic, USA; Cymbospondylus buchseri Sander, 1989, Middle Triassic, Switzerland; Cymbospondylus nichollsi Fröbisch, Sander and Rieppel, 2006, Middle Triassic, USA.

Eurhinosaurus Abel, 1909: Eurhinosaurus longirostris (Mantell, 1851), Lower Jurassic, Germany, England, France, Luxembourg.

Excalibosaurus McGowan, 1986: Excalibosaurus costini McGowan, 1986, Lower Jurassic, England.

Grippia Wiman, 1929: Grippia longirostris Wiman, 1929, Lower Triassic, Svalbard, Canada.

Guizhouichthyosaurus Yin et al., 2000: Guizhouichthyosaurus tangae Yin et al., 2000, possibly referable to Shastasaurus, Upper Triassic, China; Guizhouichthyosaurus wolongangensis (Chen, Cheng and Sander, 2007), Upper Triassic, China.

Gulosaurus Cuthbertson, Russell and Anderson, 2013: Gulosaurus helmi Cuthbertson, Russell and Anderson, 2013, Lower Triassic, Canada. 

Hauffiopteryx Maisch, 2008: Hauffiopteryx typicus Maisch, 2008, Lower Jurassic, Germany, England, Luxembourg.

Himalayasaurus Young and Dong, 1972: Hamalayasaurus tibetensis Young and Dong, 1972, Upper Triassic, Tibet.

Hudsonelpidia McGowan, 1995: Hudsonelpidia brevirostris McGowan, 1995, Upper Triassic, Canada.

Ichthyosaurus König, 1818: Ichthyosaurus communis Conybeare, 1822, Lower Jurassic, England, Belgium, Switzerland; Ichthyosaurus intermedius Conybeare, 1822, Lower Jurassic, England; Ichthyosaurus breviceps Owen, 1881, Lower Jurassic, England; Ichthyosaurus conybeari Lydekker, 1888b, Lower Jurassic, England.

Ichthyosaurus” acutirostris Owen, 1840: this taxon is in need of restudy and revision; specimens assigned to this taxon likely form a paraphyletic assemblage from several other valid taxa (Maisch 2010).

IsfjordosaurusMotani, 1999: Isfjordosaurus minor (Wiman, 1910), Lower Triassic, Svalbard.

Leninia Fischer et al., 2013: Leninia stellans Fischer et al., 2013, Lower Cretaceous, Russia.

Leptonectes McGowan, 1996b:Leptonectes tenuirostris (Conybeare, 1822), Lower Jurassic, England, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium; Leptonectes solei (McGowan, 1993), Lower Jurassic, England; Leptonectes moorei McGowan and Milner, 1999, Lower Jurassic, England.

Macgowania Motani, 1999: Macgowania janiceps (McGowan, 1996a), Upper Triassic, Canada.

Maiaspondylus Maxwell and Caldwell, 2006: Maiaspondylus lindoei Maxwell and Caldwell, 2006, Lower Cretaceous, Canada.

Malawania Fischer et al., 2013: Malawania anachronus Fischer et al., 2013, Lower Cretaceous, Iraq.

Mikadocephalus Maisch and Matzke, 1997: Mikadocephalus gracilirostris Maisch and Matzke, 1997, Middle Triassic, Switzerland, Svalbard.

Mixosaurus Baur, 1887: Mixosaurus cornalianus (Bassani, 1886),Middle Triassic, Switzerland, Italy; Mixosaurus kuhnschnyderi (Brinkmann, 1998), Middle Triassic, Switzerland.

Mollesaurus Fernández, 1999: Mollesaurus periallus Fernández, 1999, Middle Jurassic, Argentina, possibly a junior synonym of Ophthalmosaurus.

Nannopterygius Huene, 1922: Nannopterygius enthekiodon (Hulke, 1871), Upper Jurassic, England, Germany.

Omphalosaurus Merriam, 1906: Omphalosaurus nevadanus Merriam, 1906, Middle Triassic, USA; Omphalosaurus nettarhynchus Mazin, 1987, Middle Triassic, USA; Omphalosaurus peyeri Maisch and Lehmann, 2002, Middle Triassic, Germany; Omphalosaurus wolfi Tichy, 1995, Middle Triassic Germany; Omphalosaurus merriami Maisch, 2010, Lower Triassic, Svalbard.

Ophthalmosaurus Seeley, 1874: Ophthalmosaurus icenicus Seeley, 1874, Middle–Upper Jurassic, England, France; Ophthalmosaurus natans (Marsh, 1879), Upper Jurassic, USA; Ophthalmosaurus saveljeviensis (Arkhangelsky, 1997), Upper Jurassic, Russia; Ophthalmosaurus yasikovi (Efimov, 1999a), Upper Jurassic, Russia.

Palvennia Druckenmiller et al., 2012: Palvennia hoybergeti Druckenmiller et al., 2012, Upper Jurassic, Svalbard.

Parvinatator Nicholls and Brinkman, 1995: Parvinatator wapitiensis Nicholls and Brinkman, 1995, Lower Triassic, Canada.

PessopteryxWiman, 1910: Pessopteryx nisseri Wiman, 1910, Lower Triassic, Svalbard.

Phalarodon Merriam, 1910: Phalarodon fraasi Merriam, 1910, Lower–Middle Triassic, Canada, Middle Triassic, Switzerland, Svalbard; Phalarodon major (Huene, 1916), Middle Triassic, Germany, Switzerland; Phalarodon callawayi (Schmitz et al., 2004), Middle Triassic, USA, Svalbard.

Phantomosaurus Maisch and Matzke, 2000: Phantomosaurus neubigi (Sander, 1997), Middle Triassic, Germany.

Platypterygius Huene, 1922: Platypterygius platydactylus (Broili, 1908), Lower Cretaceous, Germany; Platypterygius australis (M'Coy, 1867), Lower Cretaceous, Australia; Platypterygius hauthali (Huene, 1927), Lower Cretaceous, Argentina; Platypterygius americanus (Nace, 1939), Lower Cretaceous, USA; Platypterygius hercynicus Kuhn, 1946, Lower Cretaceous, Germany; Platypterygius kiprijannofi Romer, 1968, Lower Cretaceous, Russia; Platypterygius birjukovi Otschev and Efimov, 1985, Lower Cretaceous, Russia; Platypterygius bedengensis (Efimov, 1997), Lower Cretaceous, Russia; Platypterygius sachicarum Páramo, 1997, Lower Cretaceous, Colombia; Platypterygius bannovkenis Arkhangelsky, 1998, Upper Cretaceous, Russia; Platypterygius ochevi Arkhangelsky et al., 2008, Lower (Upper?) Cretaceous, Russia.

Qianichthyosaurus Li, 1999: Qianichthyosaurus zhoui Li, 1999, Upper Triassic, China.

Quasianosteosaurus Maisch and Matzke, 2003: Quasianosteosaurus vikinghoegdai Maisch and Matzke, 2003, Lower Triassic, Svalbard.

Shastasaurus Merriam, 1895: Shastasaurus pacificus Merriam, 1895, Upper Triassic, USA; Shastasaurus alexandrae Merriam, 1902, Upper Triassic, USA; Shastasaurus liangae (Yin et al., 2000), Upper Triassic, China; Shastasaurus sikkaniensis (Nicholls and Manabe, 2004), Upper Triassic, USA.

Shonisaurus Camp, 1976: Shonisaurus popularis Camp, 1976, Upper Triassic, USA.

Stenopterygius Jaekel, 1904: Stenopterygius quadriscissus (Quenstedt, 1858), Lower Jurassic, Germany, Luxembourg, France; Stenopterygius triscissus (Quenstedt, 1858), Lower Jurassic, England, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Switzerland?; Stenopterygius uniter Huene, 1931, Lower Jurassic, Germany; Stenopterygius aaleniensis Maxwell, Fernández and Schoch, 2012, Middle Jurassic, Germany; Stenopterygius cayi (Fernández, 1994), Middle Jurassic, Argentina.

Suevoleviathan Maisch, 1998: Suevoleviathan disinteger (Huene, 1926), Lower Jurassic, Germany; Suevoleviathan integer (Bronn, 1844), Lower Jurassic, Germany.

Sveltonectes Fischer et al., 2011: Sveltonectes insolitus Fischer et al., 2011, Lower Cretaceous, Russia.

Temnodontosaurus Lydekker, 1889: Temnodontosaurus platyodon (Conybeare, 1822), Lower Jurassic, England, Germany, Belgium; Temnodontosaurus trigonodon (Theodori, 1843), Lower Jurassic, Germany, France; Temnodontosaurus crassimanus (Blake, 1876), Lower Jurassic, England; Temnodontosaurus nuertingensis (Huene, 1931), Lower Jurassic, Germany; Temnodontosaurus eurycephalus (McGowan, 1974), Lower Jurassic, England; Temnodontosaurus azerguensis (Martin et al., 2012), Lower Jurassic, France.

Thaisaurus Mazin et al., 1991: Thaisaurus chonglakmanii Mazin et al., 1991, Lower Triassic, Thailand.

Thalattoarchon Fröbisch et al., 2013: Thalattoarchon saurophagis Fröbisch et al., 2013, Middle Triassic, USA.

Tholodus Meyer, 1851: Tholodus schmidi Meyer, 1851, Middle Triassic, Germany, China?.

Toretocnemus Merriam, 1903: Toretocnemus californicus Merriam, 1903, Upper Triassic, USA; Toretocnemus zitteli Merriam, 1903, Upper Triassic, USA.

Undorosaurus Efimov, 1999b: Undorosaurus gorodischensis Efimov, 1999b, Upper Jurassic, Russia.

Utatsusaurus Shikama, Kamei and Murata, 1978: Utatsusaurus hataii Shikama, Kamei and Murata, 1978, Lower Triassic, Japan, Canada.

Wimanius Maisch and Matzke, 1998a: Wimanius odontopalatus Maisch and Matzke, 1998a, Middle Triassic, Switzerland.

Xinminosaurus Jiang et al., 2008: Xinminosaurus catactes Jiang et al., 2008, possibly synonymous with Tholodus schmidi.