Muiscasaurus

Name: Muiscasaurus ‭(‬Muisca lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Mu-es-ca-sor-us.
Named By: E.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Maxwell,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Dick,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Padilla‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Parra‭ ‬-‭ ‬2015.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Ichthyosauria,‭ ‬Ophthalmosauridae.
Species: M.‭ ‬catheti‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Preserved holotype skull length‭ ‬45‭ ‬centimetres.‭ ‬Reconstructed skull length anything between‭ ‬48‭ ‬and‭ ‬65‭ ‬centimetres long.‭ ‬Total body size uncertain but estimated to have been about‭ ‬3‭ ‬meters long for the juvenile holotype,‭ ‬with adults potentially growing up to‭ ‬5‭ ‬meters in length.
Known locations: Colombia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Paja Formation.
Time period: Barremian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull with some partial post cranial remains thought to be from a juvenile.

       Muiscasaurus is a genus of opthalmosaurid ichthyosaur that lived during the early Cretaceous.‭ ‬Opthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs like Muiscasaurus are thought to have been specialists that hunted in deep water where there was very little light.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Colombia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Papers in Palaeontology.‭ ‬-‭ ‬E.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Maxwell,‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Dick,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Padilla‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Parra‭ ‬-‭ ‬2015.



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