Platypterygius platydactylus

Overview

Platypterygius platydactylus is a fossil ichthyosaur from Early Cretaceous Germany. Material of the head, front of the trunk, rear of the tail, and forelimbs has been studied. Following surviving descriptions reveals what separate body regions can tell us.^[1][2]

Key facts

The reference specimen is recorded in the literature as having been lost later. Earlier descriptions nevertheless preserve information about the head, body, and forelimbs. The fossil itself and the records made while studying it continue the research story in different ways.^[2][1]

Time and place

A 2012 review presents this species through Aptian material from present-day Germany. It is an Early Cretaceous fossil; the entire Cretaceous spanned approximately 140–66 million years ago. Descriptions linked to this species can be followed separately from the appearance of ichthyosaurs from other regions.^[2][3]

The time range describes source context, not the complete duration of this species.

Size, form and skeleton

The head, anterior axial skeleton, posterior tail vertebrae, and forelimbs provide the main anatomical clues. Features of the joined bones at the front of the neck and the forelimb structure are also compared in the literature.^[1]

The trunk length used in comparative research is approximately 1.59 m. This measurement excludes the long head and tail, so the entire animal was longer.^[4]

Habitat and reproduction

An ichthyosaur’s body can be examined in terms of its head, axial skeleton, and fin-shaped limbs. Descriptions of this species likewise provide information about several regions separately. They invite consideration of the fossil bones alongside the broad outline of the body that surrounded them.^[1]

Fossil discovery

A 2012 study reviewing Cretaceous ichthyosaur diversity mentioned both the locality of this species and the loss of its type specimen. Later skeletal and taxonomic research also uses the surviving descriptions for comparison. Records of a lost specimen thus continue in subsequent research.^[2][1]

References

1. Fischer et al. (2014) — Skeletons and classification of Cretaceous ichthyosaurs
2. Zammit (2012) — Diversity of Cretaceous ichthyosaurs
3. International Commission on Stratigraphy (2024) — Geological time chart
4. Pimiento et al. (2024) — Extinct large marine organisms of the Phanerozoic
5. American Museum of Natural History — Stenopterygius quadriscissus
6. Research plate explanation for Stenopterygius SMF457

Research questions

How can evidence for similarly named ichthyosaurs be distinguished? Following species names and specimens allows descriptions of the head and forelimbs to be matched separately. The well-preserved body of another species cannot simply be transferred to this one.^[1][2]

Observation

Move your gaze from the head along the axis of the trunk toward the tail, and locate the forelimbs. Examine the bones of each region separately from the streamlined outline of the whole body.^[1]