Gut Contents of an Ichthyosaur From Norian Triassic Alaska

An Upper Triassic (Norian) ichthyosaur (Reptilia, Ichthyopterygia) from northern Alaska and dietary insight based on gut contents

Authors:

Druckenmiller et al

Abstract:

In 1950, the partial skeleton of a large vertebrate was discovered in the western Brooks Range of Alaska by a team of geologists mapping the U.S. Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4 (now National Petroleum Reserve—Alaska). Because the preserved portion of the specimen was large (approximately 4 m in length) and found in an extremely remote location (Fig. 1), it was not collected at the time of discovery, although the site was subsequently revisited at later dates by geologists familiar with the find. A brief note mentioning the skeleton and its probable age was published 23 years later (Tailleur et al., 1973); however, the identity of the skeleton as an ichthyosaur, though suspected, was equivocal. In 2002, the specimen was relocated and collected by a team from the University of Alaska Museum, where it is now housed.