A new Lower Triassic ichthyopterygian assemblage from Fossil Hill, Nevada
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Evolutionary Studies, Paleontology
- Keywords
- Triassic, Ichthyosaur, Ichthyopterygia, Marine Reptile, Nevada
- Copyright
- © 2015 Kelley et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2015. A new Lower Triassic ichthyopterygian assemblage from Fossil Hill, Nevada. PeerJ PrePrints 3:e1447v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.1447v1
Abstract
We report a new ichthyopterygian assemblage from Lower Triassic horizons of the Prida Formation at Fossil Hill in central Nevada. Although fragmentary, the specimens collected so far document a diverse fauna. One partial jaw exhibits isodont dentition with blunt tipped, mesiodistally compressed crowns and striated enamel. These features are shared with the Early Triassic genus Utatsusaurus known from coeval deposits in Japan and British Columbia. An additional specimen exhibits a different dentition characterized by relatively small, rounded posterior teeth resembling other Early Triassic ichthyopterygians particularly Grippia. This Nevada assemblage marks a southward latitudinal extension for Early Triassic ichthyopterygians along the eastern margin of Panthalassa and indicates repeated circum-oceanic dispersal events in Early Triassic ichthyopterygians.
Author Comment
This is a submission to PeerJ for review.