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Omphalosaurus
Taxonomy
Omphalosaurus was named by Merriam (1906) [Sepkoski's age data: Tr Olen-u Tr Anis Sepkoski's reference number: 1066]. It is not extant. Its type is Omphalosaurus nevadanus.
It was assigned to Ichthyosauria by Merriam (1906) and Sepkoski (2002); and to Omphalosauridae by Hay (1930), von Huene (1951), Carroll (1988), Sander and Faber (1998), Maisch (2010) and Ekeheien et al. (2018).
It was assigned to Ichthyosauria by Merriam (1906) and Sepkoski (2002); and to Omphalosauridae by Hay (1930), von Huene (1951), Carroll (1988), Sander and Faber (1998), Maisch (2010) and Ekeheien et al. (2018).
Species
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1906 | Omphalosaurus Merriam |
| 1930 | Omphalosaurus Hay p. 129 |
| 1951 | Omphalosaurus von Huene p. 90 |
| 1988 | Omphalosaurus Carroll |
| 1998 | Omphalosaurus Sander and Faber p. 155 |
| 2002 | Omphalosaurus Sepkoski |
| 2010 | Omphalosaurus Maisch |
| 2018 | Omphalosaurus Ekeheien et al. p. 222 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Omphalosaurus Merriam 1906
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†Omphalosaurus nettarhynchus Mazin and Bucher 1987
†Omphalosaurus nevadanus Merriam 1906
†Omphalosaurus wolfi Tichy 1995
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| P. M. Sander and C. Faber 1998 | Small to medium-sized duroophagous ichthyosaur. Differs from all other ichthyosaurs in the particular arrangement of the teeth forming an irregular pavement and not being set in distinct rows. No other ichthyosaur has maxillary grinding surfaces oriented at right angles to each other. The tooth crowns differ from the other durophagous ichthyosaurs (Phalrodon, Tholodus) in that they are lower and more irregular in shape. Instead of longitudinal wrinkles as in the other durophagous ichthyosaurs, the enamel surface has a characteristic orange-peel pitting.
The skull and lower jaw bones are much more massive than in any other ichthyosaur. In no other ichthyosaur have expanded hollow ribs been found. The roundish humeri found in association with Omphalosaurus dentitions differ from other roundish ichthyosaur humeri in their prominent deltopectoral crest. |