Kyhytysuka

Kyhytysuka
Temporal range: Barremian-Aptian
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Skull of K. sachicarum in the Paleontological Museum in Villa de Leyva, Colombia
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Ichthyosauria
Node: Ophthalmosauria
Genus: Kyhytysuka
Cortés et al., 2021
Type species
Kyhytysuka sachicarum
(Páramo, 1997)
Synonyms

Kyhytysuka (Chibcha pronunciation: [kɨhɨtɨˈsuka]) is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurian ichthyosaur from Early Cretaceous Colombia. The animal was previously assigned to the genus Platypterygius, but given its own genus in 2021. Kyhytysuka was a mid-sized ophthalmosaurian with heterodont dentition and several adaptations suggesting that it was a macropredatory vertebrate hunter living in shallow waters. It contains a single species, Kyhytysuka sachicarum.