Cartorhynchus is an extinct genus of early ichthyosauriform marine reptile that lived during the Early Triassic epoch, about 248 million years ago. The genus contains a single species, Cartorhynchus lenticarpus, named in 2014 by Ryosuke Motani and colleagues from a single nearly-complete skeleton found near Chaohu, Anhui Province, China. Along with its close relative Sclerocormus, Cartorhynchus was part of a diversification of marine reptiles that occurred suddenly during the Spathian substage, soon after the devastating Permian-Triassic extinction event, but they were subsequently driven to extinction by volcanism and sea level changes by the Middle Triassic.
Stratigraphic diagram of the Nanlinghu Formation at the Majiashan Quarry (the source locality of Sclerocormus is marked in red)
Life reconstruction
Sclerocormus is the closest relative of Cartorhynchus, with the two forming the Nasorostra
Taxonomic diversity of Triassic marine reptiles; note the two peaks in diversity and the bottleneck between
The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251.9 Ma and 247.2 Ma. Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy. The Early Triassic is the oldest epoch of the Mesozoic Era. It is preceded by the Lopingian Epoch and followed by the Middle Triassic Epoch. The Early Triassic is divided into the Induan and Olenekian ages. The Induan is subdivided into the Griesbachian and Dienerian subages and the Olenekian is subdivided into the Smithian and Spathian subages.
Sandstone from the Lower Triassic Series
The Putorana Plateau is composed of basalt rocks of the Siberian Traps.
Early Triassic brittle stars (echinoderms)
Fossils of the bivalve Claraia clarai