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{{Short description|Extinct genus of reptiles}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Late Jurassic]], {{fossilrange|Kimmeridgian|Tithonian}}
| image = Grendelius (aka Brachypterygius) mordax.jpg
| image_caption = Skull of ''G. mordax'' at the [[Sedgwick Museum]] in Cambridge
| taxon = Grendelius
| authority = McGowan, [[1976 in paleontology|1976]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
*[[extinction|†]]'''''G. alekseevi''''' (Arkangelsky, 2001) [originally ''Otschevia'']
*†'''''G. mordax''''' McGowan, 1976 ([[type species|Type]])
*†'''''G. pseudoscythicus''''' (Efimov, 1998) [originally ''Otschevia'']
*†'''''G. zhuravlevi''''' (Arkangelsky, 1998)
| synonyms =
'''''Otschevia''''' Efimov, 1998
}}

'''''Grendelius''''' is a genus of [[platypterygiine]] [[ophthalmosaurid]] ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic ([[Kimmeridgian]]-[[Tithonian]]) of the UK and European Russia. It was a medium-sized ichthyosaur measuring about {{convert|4|m|ft}} long.<ref name=ZAS2015>{{cite journal|first1=N. G. |last1=Zverkov |first2=M. S. |last2=Arkhangelsky |first3=I. M. |last3=Stenshin |year=2015 |title=A review of Russian Upper Jurassic ichthyosaurs with an intermedium/humeral contact. Reassessing Grendelius McGowan, 1976 |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Institute |volume=318 |issue=4 |pages=558–588|doi=10.31610/trudyzin/2015.319.4.558}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
[[File:Grendelius Scale.svg|thumb|left|Size comparison of ''G. alekseevi'']]
The type species, ''Grendelius mordax'', was described in 1976 on the basis of '''CAMSM J.68516''', a complete skull with associated postcranial elements from the [[Kimmeridge Clay]] of [[England]].<ref>McGowan C. 1976. The description and phenetic relation-ships of a new ichthyosaur genus from the Upper Jurassic of England. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 13: 668–683.</ref> Later, it was reassigned to ''[[Brachypterygius]]'' because differences between the two species were considered insufficient to warrant separate genera, or even species.<ref>McGowan, C. 1997. The taxonomic status of Grendelius mordax: a preliminary report. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 17, 428–430. doi:10.1080/02724634.1997.10010986</ref><ref name=MM03>McGowan, C. & Motani, R. Ichthyopterygia. In Sues, H.-D. (ed.) Handbook of Paleoherpetology, vol. 8. Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich, 175 pp., 19 pls.</ref>

Efimov, 1998 named a new genus of ichthyosaur, ''Otschevia pseudoscythica'' on the basis of a single specimen (the holotype) from the ''Pseudoscythia'' Zone (late [[Tithonian]] stage of the Late Jurassic) of [[Ulyanovsk]], [[Volga region]], Russia.<ref name="Efimov, 1998">Efimov VM. 1998. An Ichthyosaur, ''Otschevia pseudoscythica'' gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Jurassic Strata of the Ulyanovsk Region (Volga Region). ''Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal'' '''32''' (2): 187-191.</ref> Later, Arkangelsky, 1998 described ''Brachypterygius zhuravlevi'' from a Tithonian-stage locality in [[Saratov]], Russia, subsequently referring it to ''Otschevia zhuravlevi''.<ref name="Arkhangelsky, 1998">Arkhangelsky, M. S. 1998. On the ichthyosaurian fossils from the Volgian stage of the Saratov Region. ''Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal'', '''1998''', 87–91.</ref><ref name="Arkhangelsky, 2000">Arkhangelsky, M. S. 2000. On the ichthyosaur ''Otschevia'' from the Volgian Stage of the Volga Region. ''Paleontological Journal'', '''34''', 549–552.</ref> Maisch & Matzke, 2000 considered both Russian taxa to be synonyms of each other, and referred the new combination ''B. pseudoscythicus'' to ''Brachypterygius''.<ref name="Maisch & Matzke, 2000">Maisch MW, Matzke AT. 2000. The Ichthyosauria. ''Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie)'' '''298''': 1-159</ref> Thus, ''Grendelius'' and ''Otschevia'' are considered to be [[junior synonym]]s of ''Brachypterygius''. Arkhangelsky named ''Otschevia alekseevi'' in 2001, also from the Late Jurassic of Russia.<ref name="Arkhangelsky, 2001">Arkhangelsky, M. S. 2001. On a new ichthyosaur of the genus ''Otschevia'' from the Volgian Stage of the Volga Region near Ulyanovsk. ''Paleontological Journal'', '''35''', 629–635.</ref> While McGowan and Motani (2003) considered these Russian taxa to be junior synonyms of ''B. extremus'',<ref name=MM03/> Maisch (2010) retained them, and ''B. mordax'', as separate species.<ref name=Maisch2010>{{cite journal |author=Michael W. Maisch |year=2010 |title=Phylogeny, systematics, and origin of the Ichthyosauria – the state of the art |url=http://www.palaeodiversity.org/pdf/03/Palaeodiversity_Bd3_Maisch.pdf |journal=Palaeodiversity |volume=3 |pages=151–214 }}</ref> A paper published in 2015 found ''Grendelius'' to be generically distinct from the ''Brachypterygius'' type species and more derived within Platypterygiinae, being more closely related to ''[[Platypterygius]]'' than to ''Brachypterygius''. ''Otschevia'' was considered to be a junior synonym of ''Grendelius''.<ref name=ZAS2015/>

[[File:Otshevia2DB.jpg|thumb|right|[[Life restoration]] of ''G. zhuravlevi'']]
The following cladogram shows a possible phylogenetic position of ''Grendelius'' in Ophthalmosauridae according to the analysis performed by Zverkov and Jacobs (2020).<ref name="Zverkov2020">{{cite journal |author1=Nikolay G. Zverkov |author2=Megan L. Jacobs |year=2020 |title=Revision of ''Nannopterygius'' (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae): reappraisal of the 'inaccessible' holotype resolves a taxonomic tangle and reveals an obscure ophthalmosaurid lineage with a wide distribution |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=191 |pages=228–275 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa028}}</ref>

{{clade
|label1=[[Ophthalmosauria]]
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|label1=[[Ophthalmosaurinae]]
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Acamptonectes|Acamptonectes densus]]''

|2={{clade
|1=''[[Mollesaurus|Mollesaurus periallus]]''

|2={{clade
|1=''[[Ophthalmosaurus natans]]''
|2=''[[Ophthalmosaurus icenicus]]''
}}
}}
}} }} }}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Gengasaurus nicosiai]]''

|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Nannopterygius|Nannopterygius yasykovi]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Nannopterygius|Nannopterygius enthekiodon]]''
|2=''[[Nannopterygius|Nannopterygius saveljeviensis]]''
|3=''[[Nannopterygius|Nannopterygius borealis]]''
}}
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Arthropterygius|Arthropterygius volgensis]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Arthropterygius|Arthropterygius lundi]]''
|2=''[[Arthropterygius|Arthropterygius thalassonotus]]''
|3={{clade
|1=''[[Arthropterygius|Arthropterygius hoybergeti]]''
|2=''[[Arthropterygius|Arthropterygius chrisorum]]''
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}

|label2=[[Platypterygiinae]]
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Brachypterygius extremus]]''
|2=''[[Aegirosaurus leptospondylus]]''

|3={{clade
|1=''[[Muiscasaurus catheti]]''

|2={{clade
|1=''[[Leninia stellans]]''

|2={{clade
|1=''[[Sveltonectes insolitus]]''

|2={{clade
|1=''[[Athabascasaurus bitumineus]]''

|2={{clade
|1=''[[Platypterygius americanus]]''

|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Acuetzpalin|Acuetzpalin carranzai]]''
|2=''[[Platypterygius sachicarum]]''
|3=''[[Caypullisaurus bonapartei]]''
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1='''''Grendelius mordax'''''
|2='''''Grendelius alekseevi'''''
|3='''''Grendelius pseudoscythicus'''''
|4='''''Grendelius zhuravlevi'''''
}}
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=''[[Undorosaurus|Undorosaurus kielanae]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Undorosaurus nessovi]]''
|2=''[[Undorosaurus gorodischensis]]''
}}
}}
}}
}}
}}
|3={{clade
|1=''[[Platypterygius australis]]''
|2={{clade
|1=''[[Plutoniosaurus bedengensis]]''
|2=''[[Simbirskiasaurus|Simbirskiasaurus birjukovi]]''
|3=''[[Platypterygius hercynicus]]''
|4=''[[Sisteronia seeleyi]]''
|5=''[[Platypterygius|Platypterygius platydactylus]]''
|6=''[[Maiaspondylus lindoei]]''
}}
}}
}}
}}
}} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }}

==See also==
{{portal|Paleontology}}
* [[List of ichthyosaurs]]
* [[Timeline of ichthyosaur research]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ichthyosauria|Parvipelvia}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q27989454}}

[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1976]]
[[Category:Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs]]
[[Category:Late Jurassic reptiles of Europe]]
[[Category:Ichthyosauromorph genera]]

Grendelius - Revision history

imported>FunkMonk: Skull photo.