Ophthalmosauridae
family of ichthyosaurs / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ophthalmosauridae were a family of Ichthyosaurs which lived from the Middle Jurassic to the Upper Cretaceous period.
Ophthalmosauridae Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–Upper Cretaceous, 171.6–93.5 mya | |
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Ophthalmosaurus icenicus skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
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Family: | Ophthalmosauridae |
Within Ophthalmosauridae there are two lineages, one including Aegirosaurus and Ophthalmosaurus, and the other including Brachypterygius, Caypullisaurus and Platypterygius.[1]
Only three genera survived the end-Jurassic extinction event: Caypullisaurus, Maiaspondylus, and Platypterygius. They did, however, have a worldwide distribution. The last to survive was Platypterygius. This genus became extinct about 30 million years before the end of the Upper Cretaceous period. It happened when there was a deep ocean anoxic event, which wiped out all the animals below pelagic waters. Ichthyosaurs, being reptiles, came to the surface to breath, but the extinction event removed their prey species.