Phantomosaurus
genus of reptiles (fossil)
Phantomosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur that lived during the late Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic. Fossils have been found in southern Germany. It was discovered in 1965 and named in 1997 as a species of Shastasaurus by Sander in the rocks of the Upper Muschelkalk.
More recently, in 2005, the braincase was studied by Maisch and Matzke. They found it to be unique among all known ichthyosaurs in terms of braincase morphology. Despite its close relation to many other ichthyosaurs, in particular Cymbospondylus, Phantomosaurus appears to have a very primitive braincase which resembles other diapsids more than other ichthyosaurs.
Morphology
Phantomosaurus is known from a partial skull, the lower jaw, some of the vertebrae and ribs (pictured) and the hind fin.
Hind fin
The hind fin is very long and slender, with elongated femur, tibia and fibula. These features suggest a long but not particularly powerful limb, which would have generated a reasonable quantity of lift. Presumably the fore fins also generated lift, or the ichthyosaur would have found itself permanently heading downwards.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Phantomosaurus” is genus of reptiles (fossil). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Phantomosaurus, genus and reptiles, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “genus of reptiles (fossil)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7180630. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1965, 1997 and 2005.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Phantomosaurus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.