''Pessopteryx'' is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a un ...

(

Olenekian In the geologic timescale, the Olenekian is an age in the Early Triassic epoch; in chronostratigraphy, it is a stage in the Lower Triassic series. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). The Olenekian is sometimes divided i ...

) of Svalbard,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. The genus originally contained four species, ''P. nisseri'', ''P. arctica'', ''P. pinguis'', and ''P. minor'', which were named in 1910 by

Carl Wiman Carl Johan Josef Ernst Wiman (March 10, 1867 – June 15, 1944) was a Swedish palaeontologist, the first professor of palaeontology and historical geology at Uppsala University, and the father of Swedish vertebrate palaeontology. Wiman was ...

. Wiman. C. (1910) Ichthyosaurs from the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

Spitzbergens

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

]. ''Bulletin of the Geological Institution of the University of Upsala'' 10: 125–148. Only ''P. nisseri'' is still considered valid; ''P. arctica'' and ''P. pinguis'' are considered '' nomina dubia'' while ''P. minor'' was reassigned to the tenuous genus '' Isfjordosaurus''. '' Omphalosaurus nisseri'', '' Merriamosaurus hulkei'', and ''Rotundopteryx hulkei'' are all junior synonyms of ''P. nisseri''.

References

Early Triassic ichthyosaurs Early Triassic reptiles of Europe Fossils of Norway Fossil taxa described in 1910 Ichthyosauromorph genera {{ichthyosaur-stub