A nearly complete skull of an omphalosaurid

PUBLICATION — Sander, P.M., Ebbo, L., Liu, J., Qiao, Y. and Wolniewicz, A.S. 2026. Omphalosauridae (Ichthyosauriformes): enigmatic marine reptiles in the global recovery from the end-Permian extinction. Biological Reviews, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/brv.70208

Omphalosaurids were an enigmatic group of Mesozoic marine reptiles known mainly from fragmentary fossils from the Lower and Middle Triassic. The new publication describes the first nearly complete skull of an omphalosaurid from the Lower Triassic of Svalbard; it belongs to a new species, Ammonitritor scientacivium. This discovery confirms that the Omphalosauridae are closely related to ichthyosaurs within the broader group Ichthyosauriformes. Omphalosaurids inhabited the open ocean and probably fed on ammonites. Their wide geographical distribution indicates an early radiation of ichthyosauriforms and their important role in the recovery of marine ecosystems following the Permian–Triassic mass extinction.