Genus
Valid Extinct

Xiphodracon

Lomax et al. 2025

Xiphodracon is an extinct genus of leptonectid ichthyosaurian known from the Early Jurassic Charmouth Mudstone Formation of the United Kingdom. The genus contains a single species, Xiphodracon goldencapensis, known from a nearly complete skull and skeleton. This specimen represents the most complete ichthyosaur known from the Pliensbachian age. Xiphodracon is a close relative of Hauffiopteryx within the clade Hauffiopterygia.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Ichtyosaures
Carnivore nektonic Marine
Xiphodracon
click to enlarge
The holotype and only known specimen of the hauffiopterygian leptonectid, Xiphodracon goldencapensis (ROM VP52596) from Golden Cap, between Charmouth and Seatown, Dorset, UK. The skeleton is exposed in ventrolateral view. The skull has been fully prepared free of matrix whereas most of the skeleton is still in matrix. The left (upper) forefin has been prepared so that it is three-dimensionally preserved and projects upwards. Scale bar represents 20 cm. © D. R. Lomax, J. A. Massare & E. E. Maxwell · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
Xiphodracon
Xiphodracon
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Ichthyosauria Unranked clade
›
Parvipelvia Unranked clade
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Neoichthyosauria Unranked clade
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Leptonectidae Family
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Hauffiopterygia Unranked clade
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Xiphodracon Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
1
Geological formations
Charmouth Mudstone
1
Temporal distribution
Pliensbachian (192.9–184.2 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Xiphodracon goldencapensis 193 Ma
News 1
Voici le mystérieux dragon marin qui pourrait résoudre une énigme vieille de presque 200 millions d'années
Meet the mysterious sea dragon that could solve a riddle almost 200 million years old
United Kingdom Xiphodracon skeleton
A three-metre skeleton has been lying dormant in Dorset chalk for 150 million years. Amateur excavators brought it out of obscurity in 2001, but it took more than twenty years for science to finally give it a name. This sea dragon shakes up what we thought we knew about...
21/06/2026 futura-terre ⚙ Auto-translated
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
D. R. Lomax, J. A. Massare, and E. E. Maxwell. 2025. A new long and narrow‐snouted ichthyosaur illuminates a complex faunal turnover during an undersampled Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) interval. Papers in Palaeontology 11(5):e70038 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
D. R. Lomax, J. A. Massare, and E. E. Maxwell. 2025. A new long and narrow‐snouted ichthyosaur illuminates a complex faunal turnover during an undersampled Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) interval. Papers in Palaeontology 11(5):e70038 DOI ↗