Platypterygius

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Platypterygius
Temporal range:
Ma
Assigned P. australis specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Ichthyosauria
Family: †Ophthalmosauridae
Subfamily: †Platypterygiinae
Genus: †Platypterygius
von Huene, 1922
Type species
†Ichthyosaurus platydactylus
Broilli 1907
Other species
  • †P. americanus
    (Nace, 1939)
  • †P. australis
    (McCoy, 1867)
  • †P. hercynicus
    Kuhn, 1946

Platypterygius is a historically

ichthyosaur from the Cretaceous period. It was historically used as a wastebasket taxon, and most species within Platypterygius likely are undiagnostic at the genus or species level, or represent distinct genera, even being argued as invalid.[1]
While fossils referred to Platypterygius have been found throughout different continents, the holotype specimen was found in Germany.

Description

Restoration of P. australis

As Platypterygius contains multiple species not especially close to each other, little can be said in terms of shared characteristics. According to an analysis by Fischer (2012), all anatomical features used to unify Platypterygius species are either not actually present in each species, or much more widespread among unrelated ophthalmosaurs. Generally, species referred to this genus were large bodied macropredators based on their robust dentition.

birds (specifically, of the genus Nanantius) in its guts,[3] as well as an unidentified pterosaur
fossil with tooth marks that may be from this genus.

In 1998, Arkhangelsky estimated that P. platydactylus was about 5 metres (16 ft) long, while "P." americanus was about 5.5 metres (18 ft) long.[4] In 2010, Zammit and colleagues estimated that "P." australis was about 7 metres (23 ft) long.[5]

Discovery and species

Sternberg Museum of Natural History

The type species of Platypterygius was described in 1922 based on remains found in upper

World War 2. In the time after its discovery however Platypterygius has become a catch-all genus for Cretaceous ichthyosaurs, creating the misconstrued view of post-Jurassic ichthyosaurs as being a single global genus lacking in diversity. Later research conducted in the 2000s and 2010s has repeatedly shown this to be false, with all of the autapomorphies previously used to define Platypterygius either not being present in all assigned species or also being present in other ophthalmosaurids.[6]
As the holotype was destroyed, a redescription of the material attempting to identify valid autapomorphies is out of the question and leaves the genus in a problematic state. Furthermore, the inclusion of later described genera of Cretaceous, platypterygiine ichthyosaurs has shown Platypterygius to be paraphyletic, with the different species not clading closely to one another. Subsequently, many redescriptions of referred Platypterygius species have found them to be their own distinct genera.

One notable attempt at revising Platypterygius was conducted by Arkhangel'sky in 1998, who split the genus into 3 new subgenera. Longirostria (including the Australian "P." longmani, a synonym of "P." australis, and the Argentinian "P." hauthali), Tenuirostria ("P." americanus) and Pervushovisaurus (which included the newly described "P." bannovkensis). Both Platypterygius platydactylus,"P." kiprianoffi and "P." hercynicus were placed in the subgenus Platypterygius.[4]

"Platypterygius" bannovkensis was eventually elevated to its own genus Pervushovisaurus in 2014, utilizing Arkhangel'sky's proposed subgenus name

Kyhytysuka sachicarum.[13] It is argued that the inclusion of oldest species "P." hauthali requires reinvestigation,[11] for it lacks a skull to attribute.[14] Because of this, recent analyses on ichthyosaur classification neglect this species.[15][16] In 2024, "P." hauthali was reclassified back into the original genus, Myobradypterygius.[17]

Accepted species

Opalized
vertebral column assigned to an immature P. cf. longmani (a synonym of P. australis)

Formerly assigned species

Classification

Skeleton in Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

The following cladogram shows the internal relationships of ophthalmosaurian ichthyosaurs according to an analysis performed by Zverkov and Jacobs (2020) which shows that P. americanus is too distantly related compared to the other three species.[16]

Ophthalmosauria
Ophthalmosaurinae
Platypterygiinae

Brachypterygius extremus

Aegirosaurus leptospondylus

Muiscasaurus catheti

Leninia stellans

Sveltonectes insolitus

Athabascasaurus bitumineus

Platypterygius americanus

Acuetzpalin carranzai

Platypterygius sachicarum

Caypullisaurus bonapartei

Grendelius mordax

Grendelius alekseevi

Grendelius pseudoscythicus

Grendelius zhuravlevi

Undorosaurus kielanae

Undorosaurus nessovi

Undorosaurus gorodischensis

Platypterygius australis

Plutoniosaurus bedengensis

Simbirskiasaurus birjukovi

Platypterygius hercynicus

Sisteronia seeleyi

Platypterygius platydactylus

Maiaspondylus lindoei

See also

References

  1. S2CID 86036325
    .
  2. PMID 26953824
    .
  3. PMID 14667384
    .
  4. ^ a b Arkhangelsky, M.S. (1998). "On the Ichthyosaurian genus Platypterygius". Paleontological Journal. 32 (6): 611–615.
  5. S2CID 85089080
    .
  6. S2CID 53355007
    .
  7. ^
    doi:10.1111/zoj.12158
    .
  8. ^
    PMID 27781178
    .
  9. ^ "Mesozoic marine reptiles of Russia and other former Soviet Republics". The Age of Dinosaurs in Russia and Mongolia. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2000. pp. 187–210.
  10. ^ McGowan, C.; Motani, R. (2003). "Ichthyopterygia". Handbook of Paleoherpetology. 8. Munich, Germany: 175.
  11. ^
    doi:10.3390/geosciences2020011
    .
  12. S2CID 225721312
    .
  13. S2CID 244512087
    .
  14. S2CID 85817541
    .
  15. S2CID 91912834
    .
  16. ^
    doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa028
    .
  17. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105818
    .
  18. ^
    doi:10.1111/zoj.12158
    .
  19. ^ Páramo, M.E. (1997). "Platypterygius sachicarum (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria) nueva especie del Cretácico de Colombia". Revista INGEOMINAS. 6: 1–12.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Long, J.A., Dinosaurs of Australia and New Zealand, UNSW Press, Australia 1998

External links
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