Wimanius is a genus of ichthyosaur from the Middle Triassic of Switzerland, containing a single species, Wimanius odontopalatus. It was described by Michael Maisch and Andreas Matzke in 1998 based on an incomplete skull from Monte San Giorgio, a mountain on the Swiss-Italian border. Wimanius possesses teeth on its palate, though whether they were located on the palatine or pterygoid is disputed. Other features of Wimanius include a large orbit and jugals with two rami of similar lengths. Different phylogenetic placements of Wimanius have been recovered by different studies, including it being a mixosaurid relative or a merriamosaur, and a monotypic family, Wimaniidae has been named for it. However, its validity has also been questioned, and synonymy with various other genera has been proposed. The only specimen of Wimanius come from the Besano Formation. During the Anisian, this region was a lagoon populated by a wide variety of marine life, including a variety of other ichthyosaurs.
Reconstructed skull of Besanosaurus, a genus that Wimanius has been proposed to be a synonym of
A view of Monte San Giorgio, where Wimanius was found
Life restoration of Besanosaurus, an ichthyosaur contemporary with Wimanius
Mixosauridae was an early group of ichthyosaurs, living between 247.2 and 235 million years ago, during the Triassic period. Fossils of mixosaurs have been found all over the world: China, Timor, Indonesia, Italy, Germany, Spitsbergen, Switzerland, Svalbard, Canada, Alaska, and Nevada.
Skeleton of Mixosaurus panxianensis, sometimes assigned to its own genus Barracudasauroides
Skeleton of Ichthyosaurus. Historically, mixosaurids were frequently considered ancestral to Ichthyosaurus
Skeleton of Cymbospondylus. Exactly how mixosaurids and Cymbospondylus are related to other ichthyosaurs is uncertain
Skull and front part of the skeleton of Mixosaurus cornalianus
