Wapitisaurus

Wapitisaurus
Temporal range: Early Triassic
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: †Thalattosauria
Superfamily: †Thalattosauroidea
Genus: †Wapitisaurus
Brinkman, 1988
Type species
Wapitisaurus problematicus
Brinkman, 1988

Wapitisaurus is an extinct genus of thalattosaur from the Early Triassic. Its type and only species is Wapitisaurus problematicus. Its remains were discovered in the Vega-Phroso Member of the Sulphur Mountain Formation in British Columbia, Canada.[1]

Wapitisaurus was originally described as a member of Weigeltisauridae, a family of gliding reptiles that otherwise is only known from the Permian period.[1] However, subsequent study determined it was a member of Thalattosauria, a group of unusual marine reptiles that lived during the Triassic period.[2] The length of Wapitisaurus has been estimated to be between 1 and 1.9 metres (3.3 and 6.2 ft), similar to other thalattosaurs.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Brinkman, Donald (1988). "A weigeltisaurid reptile from the Lower Triassic of British Columbia". Palaeontology. 31 (4): 951–955. ISSN 0031-0239.
  2. ^ a b Bastiaans, Dylan; Buffa, Valentin; Scheyer, Torsten M. (2023-11-15). "To glide or to swim? A reinvestigation of the enigmatic Wapitisaurus problematicus (Reptilia) from the Early Triassic of British Columbia, Canada". Royal Society Open Science. 10 (11): 231171. doi:10.1098/rsos.231171. ISSN 2054-5703. PMC 10646446.


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