Besanosaurus

Besanosaurus is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic ichthyosaur from Monte San Giorgio of Italy and Switzerland, containing the single species B. leptorhynchus. Besanosaurus was named by Cristiano Dal Sasso and Giovanni Pinna in 1996, based on the nearly complete flattened skeleton BES SC 999, the holotype specimen. This skeleton is preserved across multiple thin rock slabs spanning 3.5 by 4 metres when assembled and took thousands of hours to prepare. Additional specimens from Monte San Giorgio that have previously been considered separate genera, including a partial skull named Mikadocephalus and a well-preserved, largely complete skeleton, have been reinterpreted as additional specimens of Besanosaurus. Putative specimens have been discovered in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and Germany, although their attribution to the genus remains disputed.