Contectopalatus

Contectopalatus; Temporal range: Mid Triassic, 247.2–235.0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Fossil
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	†Ichthyosauria
Family:	†Mixosauridae
Genus:	†Contectopalatus; Maisch & Matzke, 1998
Species:	†C. atavus
Binomial name
	†Contectopalatus atavus; Quenstedt, 1851 (originally Ichthyosaurus)

Contectopalatus was a primitive ichthyosaur, an extinct fish-like marine reptile from the Middle Triassic of Germany and China.^[2] It was originally named Ichthyosaurus atavus by Quenstedt in 1852,^[3]^: 67 and later reassigned to Mixosaurus. It was recognised as a separate genus by Maisch and Matzke in 1998, though other researchers have classified it as a species of Phalarodon instead.^[2]^[4]^[5]

In 2000, Maisch and Matzke noted that Contectopalatus was a large mixosaurid, calculating a skull length of 40 centimetres (1 ft 4 in). Based on jaw fragments, they estimated another specimen they assigned to the species to have been even larger, with a skull length of 70–80 centimetres (2.3–2.6 ft) and a total length of roughly 4.5–5 metres (15–16 ft).^[6]^[7] McGowan and Motani (2003), however, considered these estimates to be based on material to fragmentary for confident estimation and taxonomic assignment, instead considering the species to be a small mixosaurid, like the roughly 1 metre (3.3 ft) long Mixosaurus cornalianus.^[3]^: 67

References

^ "†Contectopalatus Maisch and Matzke 1998 (ichthyosaur)". Paleobiology Database. Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ a b Liu, J.; Motani, R.; Jiang, D. Y.; Hu, S. X.; Aitchison, J. C.; Rieppel, O.; Benton, M. J.; Zhang, Q. Y.; Zhou, C. Y. (2013). "The first specimen of the Middle Triassic Phalarodon atavus (Ichthyosauria: Mixosauridae) from South China, showing postcranial anatomy and peri-Tethyan distribution". Palaeontology. 56 (4): 849–866. Bibcode:2013Palgy..56..849L. doi:10.1111/pala.12021.
^ a b McGowan, C.; Motani, R. (2003). Sues, H.D. (ed.). Handbook of Paleoherpetology Part 8: Ichthyopterygia. Munich: Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil. ISBN 3899370074.
^ Jiang, D.Y.; Schmitz, L.; Hao, W.C.; Sun, Y.L. (2006). "A new mixosaurid Ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic of China" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (1): 60–69. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[60:ANMIFT]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 55171917. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
^ Økland, I.H.; Delsett, L.L.; Roberts, A.J.; Hurum, J.H. (2018). "A Phalarodon fraasi (Ichthyosauria: Mixosauridae) from the Middle Triassic of Svalbard". Norwegian Journal of Geology. 98 (2): 267–288. doi:10.17850/njg98-2-06. hdl:10852/71100.
^ Maisch, M.W.; Matzke, A.T. (2000). "The mixosaurid ichthyosaur Contectopalatus from the Middle Triassic of the German Basin". Lethaia. 33 (2): 71–74. Bibcode:2000Letha..33...71M. doi:10.1080/00241160050150186.
^ Maisch, M.W.; Matzke, A.T. (2001). "The cranial osteology of the Middle Triassic ichthyosaur Contectopalatus from Germany". Palaeontology. 44 (6): 1127–1156. Bibcode:2001Palgy..44.1127M. doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00218.