Catutosaurus
Catutosaurus was a fast-swimming marine reptile that lived in the Jurassic seas. It looked a bit like a dolphin but was actually an ichthyosaur, not a dinosaur. It had a long snout and strong flippers for chasing fish.1
Cando viviu?
Que velocidade alcanzaba?
Datos curiosos
Catutosaurus lived about 149 to 143 million years ago during the Late Jurassic period.2
Its fossils were found in the Vaca Muerta formation in Argentina, which is famous for its well-preserved marine reptiles.2
Catutosaurus had a mix of features: a skull like some ophthalmosaurids and a forefin like others, showing that these traits evolved separately.1
Its forefin had tightly packed polygonal bones and a broad connection between the upper arm and forearm bones.1
The name Catutosaurus comes from the Los Catutos area in Argentina where it was discovered.2
Catutosaurus is part of a group called ophthalmosaurids, which were the last ichthyosaurs to survive, living until about 94 million years ago.1

Para expertos en dinos
- Nome científico
- Catutosaurus
- Bautizado por
- Fernández et al. 20212
- Grupo
- Ictiosauros
- Familia / clado
- Ophthalmosauridae2
- Clasificación
- Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha2
- Idade das rochas
- de 149 a 143 millóns de anos (Tithonian)2
- Formacións rochosas
- Vaca Muerta2
- Países
- Arxentina2
- Rexistros fósiles
- 1 na Paleobiology Database2
- Descubrimento
- Catutosaurus was named in 2021 by Marta S. Fernández, Lisandro Campos, Erin E. Maxwell, and Alberto C. Garrido. The fossils were found in the Los Catutos area of Patagonia, Argentina.21
- Aínda en debate
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Catutosaurus is related to other ophthalmosaurids. Its mix of features makes its place on the family tree unclear.1
De onde veñen os datos
- Catutosaurus gaspariniae, gen. et sp. nov. (Ichthyosauria, Thunnosauria) of the Upper Jurassic of Patagonia and the Evolution of the Ophthalmosaurids (complete.bioone.org)
- Catutosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): idade, lugares, formacións rochosas, clasificación.
Cada dato desta páxina ten un número que leva á súa fonte. Se nos equivocamos nalgo, sentímolo, somos fans dos dinos, non unha revista científica. Escríbenos a [email protected] e arranxámolo.
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