The First Representative of the Ichthyosaur Genus Platypterygius from the Albian of Western Kazakhstan

An incomplete skeleton of a large ichthyosaur is described from the Upper Albian Substage of the Mangystau region of Western Kazakhstan. It consists of fragments of cranial bones (including a quadrate bone), fragments of the parietal, supratemporal, and maxillary bones, teeth, and a significant part of the spinal column of 38 vertebrae, as well as fragments of neural arches and ribs. The shape of the quadrate bone and strong teeth with a square root in cross section suggest that this find belongs to the genus Platypterygius.