Genus
Valid Extinct

Qianichthyosaurus

Li 1999

Qianichthyosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Ladinian and Carnian stages of the Late Triassic epoch. Its fossils have been found in southeastern China, in Carnian rocks of the Falang Formation near Huangtutang, Guizhou. The type species is Qianichthyosaurus zhoui, named by Chun Li in 1999. A second species, Qianichthyosaurus xingyiensis, was named from older (Ladinian) deposits in the Falang Formation in 2013 by Pengfei Yang and colleagues. Complete Qianichthyosaurus fossils are common in the Xiaowa Formation, with both juveniles and pregnant specimens being known; its larger contemporaries, Guizhouichthyosaurus and Guanlingsaurus, are rarer.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
7
Group
Ichtyosaures
Carnivore nektonic Marine
Qianichthyosaurus
click to enlarge
Fossil skeleton of Qianichthyosaurus zhoui on display at the Geological Museum of China. © Jonathan Chen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia
Qianichthyosaurus
Qianichthyosaurus
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Ichthyosauria Unranked clade
›
Hueneosauria Unranked clade
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Longipinnati Suborder
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Toretocnemidae Family
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Qianichthyosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
1,5 m ⓘ
Fossil sites 7 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
7
Geological formations
Falang
4
Xiaowa
3
Temporal distribution
Carnian (237–227.3 Ma)
4
Ladinian (241.464–237 Ma)
3
Species (2)
Qianichthyosaurus xingyiensis 239 Ma
Qianichthyosaurus zhoui 237 Ma
Images 3
Bibliography
Original description
C. Li. 1999. Ichthyosaur from Guizhou, China. Chinese Science Bulletin 44(14):1329-1333 DOI ↗
Bibliography (6)
H. Lu, D.-Y. Jiang, and R. Motani, P.-G. Ni, Z.-Y. Sun, A. Tintori, S.-Z. Xiao, M. Zhou, C. Ji, W.-F. Fu. 2018. Middle Triassic Xingyi Fauna: Showing turnover of marine reptiles from coastal to oceanic environments. Palaeoworld 27(1):107-116 DOI ↗
P. Yang, C. Ji, and D. Jiang, R. Motani, A. Tintori, Y. Sun, Z. Sun. 2013. A new species of Qianichthyosaurus (reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from Xingyi Fauna (Ladinian, Middle Triassic) of Guizhou. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis 49(6):1002-1008
M. W. Maisch, D.-Y. Jiang, and W.-C. Hao, Y.-L. Sun, Z.-Y. Sun, H. Stohr. 2008. A well-preserved skull of Qianichthyosaurus zhoui Li, 1999 (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Upper Triassic of China and the phylogenetic position of the Toretocnemidae. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Abhandlungen 248:257-266 DOI ↗
X. Wang, G. H. Bachmann, and H. Hagdorn, P. M. Sanders, G. Cuny, X. Chen, C. Wang, L. Chen, L. Cheng, F. Meng, G. Xu. 2008. The Late Triassic black shales of the Guanling area, Guizhou province, south-west China: a unique marine reptile and pelagic crinoid fossil lagerstätte. Palaeontology 51(1):27-61
E. L. Nicholls, C. Wei, and M. Manabe. 2002. New material of Qianichthyosaurus Li, 1999 (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria) from the Late Triassic of southern China, and implications for the distribution of Triassic icthyosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(4):759-765 DOI ↗
C. Li. 1999. Ichthyosaur from Guizhou, China. Chinese Science Bulletin 44(14):1329-1333 DOI ↗