Wahlisaurus

Wahlisaurus is an extinct genus of leptonectid ichthyosaur. The holotype was found in the Scunthorpe Mudstone in Nottinghamshire in 1951 and described for the first time only in 2016 by Dean Lomax [1]. The type species is Wahlisaurus massare.

Wahlisaurus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic, Hettangian
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Life reconstruction of the Wahlisaurus massare holotype individual
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Ichthyosauria
Family: †Leptonectidae
Genus: †Wahlisaurus
Lomax 2016
Type species
†Wahlisaurus massare
Lomax, 2016

Description

Wahlisaurus is so rare that only one skeleton and a single bone have been found. The first specimen consists of a skull and an incomplete skeleton. The second specimen consists of a single coracoid. It shares features, such as a slender and long snout, with other leptonectids of that time (e.g. Eurhinosaurus, Excalibosaurus, etc.). The extent of the overbite is less than that of Eurhinosaurus. Differences can be found in Wahlisaurus` shoulder girdle. Both the coracoid and the contact between the coracoid and the scapula possess a foramen.[1]

Etymology

LEICT G454.1951.5 was named in honour of William Wahl and Professor Judy Massare, both specialist in mesozoic marine reptiles.[1]

References
  1. Lomax, Dean R. (2017). "A new leptonectid ichthyosaur from the Lower Jurassic (Hettangian) of Nottinghamshire, England, UK, and the taxonomic usefulness of the ichthyosaurian coracoid". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 15 (5): 1–15. doi:10.1080/14772019.2016.1183149. S2CID 88578965.


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