Keilhauia

Keilhauia is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur, a type of dolphin-like, large-eyed marine reptile, from the Early Cretaceous shallow marine Slottsmøya Member of the Agardhfjellet Formation in Svalbard, Norway. The genus contains a single species, K. nui, known from a single specimen discovered in 2010 and described by Delsett et al. in 2017. In life, Keilhauia probably measured approximately in length; it can be distinguished by other ophthalmosaurids by the wide top end of its ilium and the relatively short ischiopubis (the fusion of the ischium and the pubis) compared to the femur. Although it was placed in a basal position within the Ophthalmosauridae by phylogenetic analysis, this placement is probably incorrect.

==Description== thumb|left|Size comparison Judging by the partially preserved holotype specimen, Keilhauia has been estimated at based on comparisons to the related ophthalmosaurid Cryopterygius. This specimen was probably mature or close to maturity at time of death, judging by the convex head of the humerus and the smooth texture of the humeral shaft.