Ichthyosauriformes
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The Ichthyosauriformes are a group of marine reptiles, belonging to the Ichthyosauromorpha, that lived during the Mesozoic. Members of this group may be informally termed ichthyosaurs, though this term is also used for the smaller group Ichthyopterygia.
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- Ichthyosauriformes
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The Ichthyosauriformes are a group of marine reptiles, belonging to the Ichthyosauromorpha, that lived during the Mesozoic. Members of this group may be informally termed ichthyosaurs, though this term is also used for the smaller group Ichthyopterygia.
The stem clade Ichthyosauriformes was in 2014 defined by Ryosuke Motani and colleagues as the group consisting of all ichthyosauromorphs that are more closely related to Ichthyosaurus communis than to Hupehsuchus nanchangensis. Their synapomorphies include the possession of a long nasal bone, stretching to the front beyond the nostril; large scleral rings, filling the eye sockets; a narrow snout in top view; and converging digits with little space between them.