Pessopteryx

Pessopteryx
Temporal range: Early Triassic, Olenekian
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Ichthyosauria
Family: †Merriamosauridae
Genus: †Pessopteryx
Wiman, 1910
Species
  • †P. nisseri Wiman, 1910 (type)
Synonyms
  • Merriamosaurus hulkei Maisch & Matzke, 2002
  • Omphalosaurus niesseri (Wiman, 1910)
  • Rotundopteryx hulkei Maisch & Matzke, 2000 non Duckhouse, 1999

Pessopteryx is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Triassic (Olenekian) of Svalbard, Norway. The genus originally contained four species, P. nisseri, P. arctica, P. pinguis, and P. minor, which were named in 1910 by Carl Wiman. Only P. nisseri is still considered valid; P. arctica and P. pinguis are considered nomina dubia while P. minor was reassigned to the tenuous genus Isfjordosaurus. Omphalosaurus nisseri, Merriamosaurus hulkei, and Rotundopteryx hulkei are all historical junior synonyms of P. nisseri. In their 2026 publication on omphalosaurid diversity, Sander et al. considered this species to belong to the genus Omphalosaurus (O. nisseri). They regarded the hypodigm as non-diagnostic based on the limited available data.

References

  1. 1 2 Maisch, M. W. (2010). "Phylogeny, systematics, and origin of the Ichthyosauria – the state of the art" (PDF). Palaeodiversity. 3: 151–214.
  2. ↑ Wiman, C. (1910). "Ichthyosaurier aus der Trias Spitzbergens" [Ichthyosaurs from the Triassic of Spitzbergen] (PDF). Bulletin of the Geological Institution of the University of Upsala (in German). 10: 125–148.
  3. 1 2 Maxwell, E. E.; Kear, B. P. (2013). "Triassic ichthyopterygian assemblages of the Svalbard archipelago: A reassessment of taxonomy and distribution". GFF. 135 (1): 85–94. doi:10.1080/11035897.2012.759145.
  4. ↑ Sander, P. Martin; Ebbo, Luc; Liu, Jun; Qiao, Yu; Wolniewicz, Andrzej S. (2026-10-07). "Omphalosauridae (Ichthyosauriformes): enigmatic marine reptiles in the global recovery from the end‐Permian extinction". Biological Reviews. doi:10.1002/brv.70208. ISSN 1464-7931.