Quasianosteosaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Quasianosteosaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 252 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 252 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Ichthyosaurs |
|---|---|
| Lived | 248.6–247 million years ago |
| Periods | Triassic |
| Family | Quasianosteosauridae |
| Named by | Maisch and Matzke 2003 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Svalbard and Jan Mayen |
| Rock formations | Sticky Keep |
About Quasianosteosaurus
Quasianosteosaurus is an extinct genus of basal ichthyosaur known from the late Early Triassic (late Olenekian stage) of Spitsbergen of the Svalbard archipelago, Norway. It was first named by Michael Werner Maisch and Andreas Theodor Matzke in 2003 and the type species is Quasianosteosaurus vikinghoegdai. The generic name is derived from Latin quasi, "almost", and Greek anosteos, "boneless" and sauros, "lizard", regarding the preservation of the holotype which is almost exclusively a natural cast of the skull with very little original bone. The specific name is derived from Vikinghøgda, "Mount Viking", where the holotype was found. Quasianosteosaurus is known only from the holotype MNHN Nr. SVT 331, a partial three-dimensionally preserved skull consisting of the snout and orbital and postorbital regions. The skull is by far the largest Early Triassic ichthyosaur skull known, with an estimated cranial length of 50 cm (20 in). It was collected from the lowermost Grippia Niveau of the Sticky Keep Formation (Spathian substage), Sassendalen Group at Mount Viking, Sassendalen. A phylogenetic analysis performed by Maisch & Matzke (2003) found it to be a basal ichthyosaur, sister taxon to Hueneosauria.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Quasianosteosaurus (revision 1298245327), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q6094110.
