page_title: Temnodontosaurus
section_title: Classification
hierarchical_section_title: Temnodontosaurus / Classification
caption_attribution_description: English: Natural History Museum, London, England, UK. Complete indexed photo collection at WorldHistoryPics.com.
context_page_description: Temnodontosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaurs from the Early Jurassic, ranging between 200 and 175 million years ago, and known from Europe and Chile. They lived in the deeper areas of the open ocean. University of Bristol paleontologist Jeremy Martin described the genus Temnodontosaurus as “one of the most ecologically disparate genera of ichthyosaurs”.
  Temnodontosaurus was one of the largest ichthyosaurs. Estimates of the maximum length of Temnodontosaurus have ranged from 9 m to 12 m. The largest length estimates rival those of another giant ichthyosaur, Shonisaurus popularis, which was previously considered the largest ichthyosaur.
  Temnodontosaurus is known for its incredibly large eyes which, at approximately 20 cm in diameter, are believed to be the largest of any known animal. It possessed a tail bend which was characteristic of Jurassic ichthyosaurs and had many conical teeth filling its jaw that were set in a continuous groove.
  The number of valid Temnodontosaurus species has varied over the years. Christopher McGowan in 1992 believed there to be around thirteen species in the genus Temnodontosaurus.
context_section_description: Temnodontosaurus is the only genus in the family Temnodontosauridae. The family Temnodontosauridae was described by C. McGowan and is from the Lower Liassic. Temnodontosauridae is part of the monophyletic group Neoichthyosauria, a clade named by Martin Sander in 2000 that includes the families Temnodontosauridae, Leptonectidae and Suevoleviathanidae. Temnodontosaurus is one of the most basal post-Triassic ichthyosaurs.
   
  Cladogram below based on Maisch and Matzke (2000) and Maisch and Matzke (2003) with clade names following Maisch (2010):
caption: T. platyodon skeletons in London
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