Phalarodon

Phalarodon is an extinct genus of mixosaurid ichthyosaur known from the Middle Triassic (247.2-242.0 million years ago). Its name is derived from the Greek φάλαρα (phálara) ("boss on the cheek plate of a helmet") and odon ("tooth"). The genus has had a tumultuous history since its classification in 1910, with different workers describing species under different genera or declaring the genus to be a nomen dubium. Currently three species are recognized, but more have been identified in the past.

== Discovery and history == thumb|left|Holotype skull of P. fraasi seen from the side The holotype of Phalarodon fraasi, which consisted of a skull and several jaw fragments, was collected by John Campbell Merriam from Fossil Hill in the West Humboldt Range of Nevada, and was subsequently described by Merriam in 1910. Since then, the species has also been found in the Guizhou Province of China, as well as the Botneheia Formation on the islands of Svalbard in Norway. In 2004, a reanalysis of the available mixosaurid materials saw Phalarodon fraasi be merged into the genus Mixosaurus alongside several other species of mixosaurid ichthyosaur.