Ophthalmothule

Name: Ophthalmothule ‭(‬Eye of the north‭)‬.
Phonetic: Of-fal-mo-fhu-le.
Named By: Aubrey Jane Roberts,‭ ‬Patrick S.‭ ‬Druckenmiller,‭ ‬Benoit Cordonnier,‭ ‬Lene L.‭ ‬Delsett‭ & ‬Jørn H.‭ ‬Hurum‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Plesiosauria,‭ ‬Cryptoclididae.
Species: O.‭ ‬cryostea‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore.
Size: Holotype roughly estimated at about‭ ‬4.7‭ ‬to‭ ‬4.8‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Spitsbergen‭ ‬-‭ ‬Agardhfjellet Formation.
Time period: Tithonian of the Jurassic/Berriasian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Complete skull,‭ ‬partial mandible,‭ ‬and most of the post cranial skeleton still articulated.




       Ophthalmothule is a genus of cryptoclidid plesiosaur known to have lived towards the end of the Jurassic,‭ ‬possibly early Cretaceous.‭ ‬Ophthalmothule is noted‭ ‬to have very‭ ‬large eye sockets,‭ ‬something which obviously suggests the presence of very large eyes.‭ ‬Large eyes would be able to trap more light,‭ ‬even at the lower murkier depths,‭ ‬which could suggest that Ophthalmothule was a plesiosaur that hunted in deep water,‭ ‬in depths where sunlight did not reach so well.‭ ‬The large eyes of Ophthalmothule were inspiration for the name which means‭ ‘‬eye of the north‭’‬.‭ ‬The north‭ (‬thule‭) ‬part of the name is in‭ ‬reference to the location of Spitsbergen where the holotype individual was found.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new plesiosaurian from the Jurassic–Cretaceous transitional interval of the Slottsmøya Member‭ (‬Volgian‭)‬,‭ ‬with insights into the cranial anatomy of cryptoclidids using computed tomography.‭ ‬-‭ ‬PeerJ.‭ ‬8:‭ ‬e8652.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Aubrey Jane Roberts,‭ ‬Patrick S.‭ ‬Druckenmiller,‭ ‬Benoit Cordonnier,‭ ‬Lene L.‭ ‬Delsett‭ & ‬Jørn H.‭ ‬Hurum‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.



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