PBDB Taxon

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Toretocnemus

Osteichthyes - Toretocnemidae

Taxonomy

Toretocnemus was named by Merriam (1903) [Sepkoski's age data: Tr u]. Its type is Toretocnemus californicus. It was considered monophyletic by Motani (1999).

It was assigned to Shastasaurinae by Merriam (1908), Hay (1930); to Californosauridae by Huene (1951); to Shastasauridae by Carroll (1988); to Euichthyosauria by Motani (1999); to Ichthyosauria by Sepkoski (2002); and to Toretocnemidae by Maisch and Matzke (2000), McGowan and Motani (2003), Maisch (2010), Ji et al. (2016).

Species

T. californicus (type species), T. zitteli (syn. Merriamia zitteli)

Synonyms

Leptocheirus was named by Merriam (1903). Its type is Leptocheirus zitteli.

It was synonymized subjectively with Merriamia by Huene (1951); it was replaced with Toretocnemus by Maisch and Matzke (2000).
Merriamia was named by Boulanger (1904) [Sepkoski's age data: Tr u]. It is not extant. Its type is Leptocheirus zitteli.

It was synonymized subjectively with Toretocnemus by Maisch and Matzke (2000).

It was assigned to Shastasaurinae by Merriam (1908), Hay (1930); to Shastasauridae by Huene (1951), Carroll (1988); and to Ichthyosauria by Sepkoski (2002).
Rhachitrema was named by Sauvage.

It was synonymized subjectively with Merriamia by Huene (1951).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1903	Leptocheirus Merriam p. 253
1903	Toretocnemus Merriam pp. 259 - 260
1904	Merriamia Boulanger
1908	Merriamia Merriam p. 88
1908	Toretocnemus Merriam p. 88
1930	Merriamia Hay p. 125
1930	Toretocnemus Hay p. 125
1951	Merriamia Huene p. 90
1951	Toretocnemus Huene p. 90
1988	Merriamia Carroll
1988	Toretocnemus Carroll
1999	Toretocnemus Motani fig. 1
2000	Toretocnemus Maisch and Matzke pp. 63, 96
2002	Merriamia Sepkoski
2002	Toretocnemus Sepkoski
2003	Toretocnemus McGowan and Motani
2010	Toretocnemus Maisch
2016	Toretocnemus Ji et al. p. 11

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
class	Osteichthyes
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()

Rank	Name	Author
—	Amniota
—	Sauropsida
class	Reptilia
subclass	Eureptilia	()
—	Romeriida
—	Diapsida	()
—	Ichthyosauromorpha
—	Ichthyosauriformes
—	Ichthyopterygia	(Owen 1840)
—	Eoichthyosauria
—	Ichthyosauria	(de Blainville 1835)
—	Hueneosauria
suborder	Longipinnati	Huene 1948
family	Toretocnemidae
genus	Toretocnemus

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. †Toretocnemus Merriam 1903

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†Toretocnemus californicus Merriam 1903

†Toretocnemus zitteli Merriam 1903

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Invalid names: Merriamia zitteli Merriam 1903 [synonym]

Invalid names: Leptocheirus Merriam 1903 [replaced], Merriamia Boulanger 1904 [synonym]

Diagnosis

Reference	Diagnosis
M. W. Maisch and A. T. Matzke 2000	"Small ichthyosaur, probably less than 2 m in entire length, skull with large orbit, jugal slender, angular small, forefin with three primary digits, humerus slender with incipient trochanter dorsalis, notches in leading and trailing edges of digits in fore- and hindfin, hindfin not much smaller than forefin, femur with very slender shaft, much expanded distally, fibula not posterodistally inclined, thoracal vertebrae, as far as known, with double rib articulations, neural spines and haemapophyses of tail very long and slender."
C. Ji et al. 2016	Tridactyl forefin and hind fin; pubis and ischium meet medially in well-defined symphysis.