Quasianosteosaurus

Quasianosteosaurus is known from only one partial skull, which is mostly a natural cast with very little original bone left.1

Its name means 'almost boneless lizard' because the fossil skull is almost just an impression in the rock.1

This ichthyosaur lived about 248 to 247 million years ago, during the Early Triassic period.3

The skull of Quasianosteosaurus is the largest Early Triassic ichthyosaur skull ever found, measuring about 50 centimetres (20 inches) long.12

It was a close relative of other early ichthyosaurs like Parvinatator, but different enough to be placed in its own family, Quasianosteosauridae.12

The fossil was found in the Sticky Keep Formation on Mount Viking in Spitsbergen, Norway.1

Early Triassic ichthyosaurs like Quasianosteosaurus show that these marine reptiles evolved and diversified very quickly after the great Permian extinction.2