Toretocnemus
| Toretocnemus Temporal range: Late Triassic, | |
|---|---|
| Clockwise from upper left: hindlimb, forelimb, dorsal vertebrae, and pelvis of T. californicus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Ichthyosauria |
| Family: | †Toretocnemidae |
| Genus: | †Toretocnemus Merriam, 1903 |
| Type species | |
| †Toretocnemus californicus Merriam, 1903 | |
| Other species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Toretocnemus (meaning 'perforated tibia') is an extinct genus of ichthyosaurs that lived during the Carnian stage of the Upper Triassic in what is now North America. Two species are known, T. californicus and T. zitelli, first described in 1903 by John Campbell Merriam from fossils discovered in the Hosselkus Limestone, Shasta County. The second species was first seen by Merriam as belonging to a distinct genus, but it was in 1999 that this latter was reclassified into the original taxon. Toretocnemus fossils are primarily known from California, although some specimens are also reported from Alaska and Mexico. With Qianichthyosaurus, the taxon is part of the Toretocnemidae, of which it is also the type genus.