List of ichthyosauromorph genera

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This list of ichthyosauromorphs is a comprehensive listing of all genera that have ever been included in the clade Ichthyosauromorpha, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, but also genera that are now considered invalid, doubtful (nomen dubium), or were not formally published (nomen nudum), as well as junior synonyms of more established names, and genera that are no longer considered ichthyopterygian. Non-ichthyosaur ichthyopterygians shall be noted as such. This list contains 123 genera.

Scope and terminology

There is no official, canonical list of ichthyosauromorph genera but one of the most thorough attempts can be found at the "Ichthyosauromorpha" section of Mikko Haaramo's Phylogeny Archive.^[1]

Naming conventions and terminology follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Technical terms used include:

Junior synonym: A name which describes the same taxon as a previously published name. If two or more genera are formally designated and the type specimens are later assigned to the same genus, the first to be published (in chronological order) is the senior synonym, and all other instances are junior synonyms. Senior synonyms are generally used, except by special decision of the ICZN, but junior synonyms cannot be used again, even if deprecated. Junior synonymy is often subjective, unless the genera described were both based on the same type specimen.
Nomen nudum (Latin for "naked name"): A name that has appeared in print but has not yet been formally published by the standards of the ICZN. Nomina nuda (the plural form) are invalid, and are therefore not italicized as a proper generic name would be. If the name is later formally published, that name is no longer a nomen nudum and will be italicized on this list. Often, the formally published name will differ from any nomina nuda that describe the same specimen. In this case, these nomina nuda will be deleted from this list in favor of the published name.
Preoccupied name: A name that is formally published, but which has already been used for another taxon. This second use is invalid (as are all subsequent uses) and the name must be replaced. As preoccupied names are not valid generic names, they will also go unitalicized on this list.
Nomen dubium (Latin for "dubious name"): A name describing a fossil with no unique diagnostic features. As this can be an extremely subjective and controversial designation, this term is not used on this list.

The list

More information Genus, Authors ...

Genus	Authors	Year	Status	Age	Location	Notes
Acamptonectes^[2]	Fischer et al.	2012	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Germany United Kingdom ( England)	Possessed an unusually rigid trunk, which would make the extent of its lateral locomotion very limited
Actiosaurus	Sauvage	1883	Dubious	Late Triassic	France	While originally described as a dinosaur and later reinterpreted as an ichthyosaur, it may actually represent a choristodere
Acuetzpalin^[3]	Barrientos-Lara & Alvarado-Ortega	2020	Valid	Late Jurassic	Mexico	Known from a partial limbless skeleton with a well-preserved skull
Aegirosaurus^[4]	Bardet & Fernández	2000	Valid	Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous	France Germany	Four of its caudal vertebrae made its tail to bend roughly 45° downwards
Anhuisaurus^[1]	Chen	1985	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Preoccupied by lizard genus Anhuisaurus (Hou, 1974). Junior synonym of Chaohusaurus
Argovisaurus^[5]	Miedema et al.	2024	Valid	Middle Jurassic	Switzerland	May have preserved traumatic injuries based on abnormalities in its skeleton
Arthropterygius	Maxwell	2010	Valid	Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous?	Argentina Canada Norway Russia	Its rostrum was relatively short and robust
Athabascasaurus	Druckenmiller & Maxwell	2010	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Canada	The holotype was discovered at an oilsand mine
Auroroborealia^[6]	Zverkov et al.	2021	Valid	Late Triassic	Russia	Suggested to be a small-bodied animal although its exact ontogenetic stage is uncertain due to fragmentary remains
Baisesaurus^[7]	Ren et al.	2022	Valid	Early Triassic	China	Very similar to Utatsusaurus
Baptanodon	Marsh	1880	Valid	Late Jurassic	United States	Formerly erroneously thought to have been toothless
Barracudasauroides	Maisch	2010	Valid	Middle Triassic	China	Only known from a partial skeleton originally referred to Mixosaurus
Barracudasaurus	Jiang et al.	2005	Dubious	Middle Triassic	China	Its premaxillary teeth were rounded in cross-section
Besanosaurus^[8]	Dal Sasso & Pinna	1996	Valid	Middle Triassic	Italy Switzerland	May have had strong jaw muscles as indicated by its skull bones
Brachypterygius^[9]^[10]	von Huene	1922	Valid	Late Jurassic	United Kingdom ( England)	Closely related to Platypterygius and Caypullisaurus
Californosaurus^[9]^[11]	Kuhn	1934	Valid	Middle Triassic to Late Triassic	Germany United States	Originally named as a species of Shastasaurus
Callawayia^[12]	Maische & Matzke	2000	Valid	Late Triassic	Canada	The morphology of its scapulae was more similar to those of Jurassic ichthyosaurs than to other Triassic taxa
Cartorhynchus^[13]	Motani et al.	2014	Valid	Early Triassic	China	Represents a sudden diversification of marine reptiles that occurred shortly after the Permian-Triassic extinction event
Catutosaurus^[14]	Fernández et al.	2021	Valid	Late Jurassic	Argentina	Represented by at least three fragmentary specimens
Caypullisaurus^[9]^[10]	Fernández	1997	Valid	Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous	Argentina	Each of its forelimbs contained ten digits
Chacaicosaurus^[11]	Fernández	1994	Valid	Middle Jurassic	Argentina	Inconsistent in phylogenetic placement
Chaohusaurus^[1]^[9]	Young & Dong	1972	Valid	Early Triassic	China	One specimen preserves the remains of two embryos and a neonate
Chensaurus^[1]^[9]	Mazin et al.	1991	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Chaohusaurus
Chonespondylus^[9]	Leidy	1868	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Cymbospondylus
Contectopalatus^[15]	Maische & Matzke	1998	Jr. synonym?	N/A	N/A	Possibly a junior synonym of Phalarodon
Cryopterygius^[16]	Druckenmiller et al.	2012	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Undorosaurus
Cymbospondylus^[9]^[12]	Leidy	1868	Valid	Early Triassic to Middle Triassic	Switzerland United States	Lacked a dorsal fin and fluked tail, which would suggest it probably swam by wriggling its body from side to side like a modern sea snake
Dearcmhara^[17]	Brusatte et al.	2015	Valid	Early Jurassic to Middle Jurassic	United Kingdom ( Scotland)	The first ichthyosaur discovered in Scotland
Delphinosaurus^[9]	Eichwald	1853	Dubious	Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous	Russia	Originally mistakenly believed to be an amphibian
Eretmorhipis^[18]	Chen et al.	2015	Valid	Early Triassic	China	Exhibited a suite of unusual features, such as relatively small eyes, a platypus-like snout, and plates on its back similar to those of stegosaurs
Eternauta^[19]	Campos et al.	2025	Valid	Late Jurassic	Argentina	May have relied on deep-diving while hunting its prey as suggested by its preserved scleral ring
Eurhinosaurus^[9]^[11]	Abel	1909	Valid	Early Jurassic	Belgium France Germany Luxembourg Netherlands Switzerland United Kingdom ( England)	Its upper jaw was twice as long as the lower jaw, convergent with billfish
Eurypterygius	Jaekel	1904	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ichthyosaurus
Excalibosaurus	McGowan	1986	Valid	Early Jurassic	United Kingdom ( England)	May have been a rare component of its environment as only two skeletons are known
Fernatator^[20]	Massare et al.	2025	Valid	Early Jurassic	Canada	The most complete ichthyosaur known from the Early Jurassic of North America
Gadusaurus^[21]	Pratas e Souza et al.	2025	Valid	Early Jurassic	Portugal	Although the majority of the cranial sutures are completely fused, which is often seen in adult ichthyosaurs, the midline suture is not fused, which would indicate the holotype belonged to either a juvenile or subadult individual
Gengasaurus	Paparella et al.	2017	Valid	Late Jurassic	Italy	Before its formal description, it had been nicknamed the "Genga ichthyosaur"
Grendelius^[9]	McGowan	1976	Valid	Late Jurassic	Russia United Kingdom ( England)	Once considered to be synonymous with Brachypterygius
Grippia^[1]^[9]	Wiman	1930	Valid	Early Triassic	Canada China Greenland Japan Norway	Members of this genus may have swum by moving their tails laterally, similar to an eel
Guanlingsaurus	Yin et al.	2000	Valid	Late Triassic	China	Has been suggested to be an Asian species of Shastasaurus
Guizhouichthyosaurus	Cao & Luo	2000	Valid	Middle Triassic to Late Triassic	China	Two morphotypes of skulls and limbs are known, which could be an indication of sexual dimorphism
Gulosaurus^[22]	Cuthbertson et al.	2013	Valid	Early Triassic	Canada	Originally thought to belong to either Grippia or Parvinatator
Hauffiopteryx	Maisch	2008	Valid	Early Jurassic	Germany Luxembourg Switzerland United Kingdom ( England)	Distinguished by its short, very thin snout
Himalayasaurus	Dong	1972	Valid	Late Triassic	China	Similarly to Thalattoarchon, its teeth possessed distinctive cutting edges
Hudsonelpidia	McGowan	1995	Valid	Late Triassic	Canada	The holotype specimen is almost complete
Hupehsuchus^[1]	Young	1972	Valid	Early Triassic	China	Has been suggested to be a filter feeder, similar to baleen whales, although a 2025 review argues that it most likely fed like a pelican^[23]
Ichthyosaurus^[9]^[11]	De la Beche & Conybeare	1821	Valid	Early Jurassic	Belgium Germany Portugal United Kingdom ( England)	The first ichthyosaur genus to be validly named and described
Ichthyotitan^[24]	Lomax et al.	2024	Valid	Late Triassic	United Kingdom ( England)	The largest ichthyosaur and marine reptile currently known
Isfjordosaurus	Motani	1999	Valid	Early Triassic	Norway	Named as a species of Pessopteryx before being assigned to its own genus
Jabalisaurus^[25]	Barrientos-Lara & Alvarado-Ortega	2021	Valid	Late Jurassic	Mexico	Originally believed to be a specimen of Ophthalmosaurus
Janusaurus^[26]	Roberts et al.	2014	Valid	Late Jurassic	Norway	Has been suggested to be synonymous with Arthropterygius although this was disputed by a subsequent study^[27]
Kazakhstanosaurus^[28]	Bolatovna & Makustovich	2021	Valid	Late Jurassic	Kazakhstan Russia	Two species are known
Keilhauia^[29]	Delsett et al.	2017	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Norway	Can be distinguished from other ophthalmosaurids by the wide top end of the ilium and exceptionally short ischiopubis compared to the femur
Kyhytysuka^[30]	Cortés et al.	2021	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Colombia	Formerly thought to represent a species of Platypterygius, but it was assigned to its own genus due to morphological differences
Leninia^[31]	Fischer et al.	2013	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Russia	One of the latest-surviving ophthalmosaurines
Lentamanusuchus^[32]	Qiao, Iijima & Liu	2025	Valid	Early Triassic	China	Possessed unusually wide autopodia compared to other hupehsuchians
Leptocheirus	Merriam	1903	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Toretocnemus
Leptonectes	McGowan	1996	Valid	Late Triassic to Early Jurassic	Belgium Germany Spain United Kingdom ( England)	One referred specimen reported from Switzerland has been found to actually belong to the related Hauffiopteryx
Leptopterygius	Huene	1929	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Leptonectes
Macgowania	Motani	1999	Valid	Late Triassic	Canada	Originally misidentified as a species of Ichthyosaurus
Macropterygius	von Huene	1922	Dubious	Late Jurassic	United Kingdom ( England)	Several specimens have been assigned to this genus, but only the type, a single vertebra, can confidently be referred to it
Magnipterygius^[33]	Maisch & Matzke	2022	Valid	Early Jurassic	Germany	Shares some features with Stenopterygius
Maiaspondylus^[10]	Maxwell & Caldwell	2006	Valid	Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous	Canada Russia United Kingdom ( England)	One particular specimen proves this genus, just like other ichthyosaurs, was viviparous
Malawania^[34]	Fischer et al.	2013	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Iraq	Relatively basal compared to other Cretaceous ichthyosaur taxa
Merriamia^[9]	Boulenger	1904	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Toretocnemus
Metashastasaurus	Nicholls & Manabe	2001	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Callawayia
Mikadocephalus^[12]^[35]	Maisch & Matzke	1997	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Besanosaurus
Mixosaurus^[9]^[12]	Baur	1887	Valid	Middle Triassic	China Italy Switzerland	Various species have been named, but most have been considered doubtful or assigned to new genera
Mollesaurus	Fernández	1999	Valid	Middle Jurassic	Argentina	The oldest known ophthalmosaurid
Muiscasaurus	Maxwell et al.	2015	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Colombia	May have been a specialized predator that fed on small, soft prey
Myobradypterygius	von Huene	1927	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Argentina Chile?	Once thought to be a species of Platypterygius
Myopterygius	von Huene	1922	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Platypterygius
Nanchangosaurus	Wang	1959	Valid	Middle Triassic	China	Its back carried bony scutes, not unlike an alligator
Nannopterygius	von Huene	1922	Valid	Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous	Kazakhstan Norway Russia United Kingdom ( England)	Similar to Ophthalmosaurus but with smaller flippers. Six species are recognized
Omphalosaurus	Merriam	1906	Valid	Early Triassic to Middle Triassic	Austria Norway Poland United States	Its bones were relatively fast-growing as evidenced by the presence of woven-fibered bone tissue
Ophthalmosaurus^[10]	Seeley	1874	Valid	Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic	United Kingdom ( England)	Noted for its proportionally large eyes, which could measure between 22–23 centimetres (8.7–9.1 in) in diameter
Otschevia	Efimov	1998	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Grendelius
Pachygonosaurus	von Huene	1916	Dubious	Middle Triassic	Poland	Only definitively known from two vertebrae
Palvennia^[16]	Druckenmiller et al.	2012	Valid	Late Jurassic	Norway	One study considered it to be a junior synonym of Arthropterygius, but this was not supported by later research^[27]
Panjiangsaurus	Chen & Chang	2003	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Guizhouichthyosaurus^[36]^[37]
Parahupehsuchus	Chen et al.	2014	Valid	Early Triassic	China	Unlike other hupehsuchians, it possessed flat, wide ribs
Paraophthalmosaurus	Arkhangelsky	1997	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Nannopterygius
Parrassaurus^[38]	Barrientos-Lara & Alvarado-Ortega	2021	Valid	Late Jurassic	Mexico	Relatively large for an ophthalmosaurid
Parvinatator	Nicholls & Brinkman	1995	Valid	Early Triassic to Middle Triassic	Canada	The only known specimen has a badly damaged skull
Pessopteryx	Wiman	1910	Valid	Early Triassic	Norway	Originally known from four species, but only the type can confidently be assigned to the genus
Pessosaurus	Wiman	1910	Valid	Middle Triassic	Norway	Two species have been described
Phalarodon	Merriam	1910	Valid	Middle Triassic	Canada China Germany Norway Switzerland? United States	Mostly known from specimens consisting of cranial remains
Phantomosaurus^[9]	Maisch & Matzke	2000	Valid	Middle Triassic	Germany	Although it was closely related to Cymbospondylus, its braincase resembled more that of other diapsids than other ichthyosaurs
Platypterygius	von Huene	1922	Valid	Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous	Australia Colombia Germany United States	Several species have been named, but most may not be diagnostic or belong to this genus
Plutoniosaurus	Efimov	1997	Dubious?	Early Cretaceous	Russia	May be identical to Simbirskiasaurus
Proteosaurus	Home	1819	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Ichthyosaurus
Protoichthyosaurus	Appleby	1979	Valid	Early Jurassic	Switzerland? United Kingdom ( England)	Has been considered a junior synonym of Ichthyosaurus, but a 2017 study found that it could be distinguished from that genus based on the morphology of its forelimbs^[39]
Qianichthyosaurus	Li	1999	Valid	Late Triassic	China	A relatively common component of its habitat, known from remains of both juvenile and pregnant individuals
Quasianosteosaurus	Maisch & Matzke	2003	Valid	Early Triassic	Norway	Had the largest skull of any Early Triassic ichthyosaur
Rachitrema	Sauvage	1883	Dubious	Late Triassic	France	Initially believed to be a dinosaur
Sangiorgiosaurus	Brinkmann	1998	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Mixosaurus
Sclerocormus	Jiang et al.	2016	Valid	Early Triassic	China	Unusually proportioned with a heavily built trunk, long tail, and small head
Shastasaurus	Merriam	1895	Valid	Late Triassic	Canada? China? United States	A referred species, which was one of the largest marine reptiles, estimated at 21 metres (69 ft) long, has been suggested by several analyses to belong to either this genus or Shonisaurus
Shonisaurus	Camp	1976	Valid	Late Triassic	United States	One of the largest ichthyosaurs yet known. State fossil of Nevada
Simbirskia	Otschev & Efimov	1985	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Platypterygius
Simbirskiasaurus	Otschev & Efimov	1985	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Russia	Closely related to Platypterygius
Sisteronia^[40]	Fischer et al.	2014	Valid	Early Cretaceous	France United Kingdom ( England)	Its discovery suggests a greater diversity of ichthyosaurs from Early Cretaceous Europe than previously thought
Stenopterygius	Jaekel	1904	Valid	Early Jurassic to Middle Jurassic	France Germany Luxembourg Switzerland United Kingdom ( England)	One well-known specimen proves that ichthyosaur infants were born tail-first, just like cetaceans, to prevent them from drowning before fully clearing the birth canal
Suevoleviathan	Maisch	1998	Valid	Early Jurassic	Germany	Had uniquely large forefins compared to other ichthyosaurs
Sumpalla^[41]	Campos et al.	2021	Valid	Late Jurassic	Argentina	Originally thought to be a specimen of Aegirosaurus
Svalbardosaurus	Mazin	1981	Dubious	Early Triassic	Norway	Although initially described as an ichthyosaur, it was later suggested to be an amphibian
Sveltonectes	Fischer et al.	2011	Valid	Early Cretaceous	Russia	Its teeth have an unusual morphology
Temnodontosaurus	Lydekker	1889	Valid	Early Jurassic	Belgium Chile? France Germany Italy Luxembourg Switzerland United Kingdom ( England)	Possibly had the largest eyes of any known animal, rivaling those of a colossal squid in size
Thaisaurus	Mazin et al.	1991	Valid	Early Triassic	Thailand	The first and fifth metacarpals are identical in size
Thalassodraco^[42]	Jacobs & Martill	2020	Valid	Late Jurassic	United Kingdom ( England)	May be closely related to Nannopterygius
Thalattoarchon^[43]	Fröbisch et al.	2013	Valid	Middle Triassic	United States	The apex predator of its ecosystem, filling an ecological role similar to orcas
Tholodus	von Meyer	1851	Valid	Middle Triassic	China? Germany Italy	Mainly known from teeth and fragments of jaws
Toretocnemus	Merriam	1903	Valid	Late Triassic	Mexico United States	Had very large eye sockets and narrow jugals
Typicusichthyosaurus	Yin et al.	2000	Jr. synonym?	N/A	N/A	Probably a junior synonym of Guanlingsaurus, but this cannot be confirmed due to poor preservation^[44]^[45]
Undorosaurus	Efimov	1999	Valid	Late Jurassic	Norway Poland Russia	Can be distinguished from Ophthalmosaurus by characters of its ischiopubis and teeth
Utatsusaurus^[1]^[9]	Shikama et al.	1978	Valid	Early Triassic	Canada Japan	The earliest known ichthyopterygian
Wahlisaurus	Lomax	2016	Valid	Early Jurassic	United Kingdom ( England)	Its shoulder girdle is markedly different from that of Eurhinosaurus
Wimanius	Maisch & Matzke	1998	Valid	Middle Triassic	Switzerland	Has been recovered in a variety of phylogenetic positions within the Hueneosauria
Xinminosaurus	Jiang et al.	2008	Valid	Middle Triassic	China	Has been suggested to be synonymous with Tholodus
Xiphodracon^[46]	Lomax, Massare & Maxwell	2025	Valid	Early Jurassic	United Kingdom ( England)	Probably closely related to Hauffiopteryx
Yasykovia	Efimov	1999	Jr. synonym	N/A	N/A	Junior synonym of Nannopterygius

List of ichthyosauromorph genera

Scope and terminology

The list

See also

References

External links

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