Stenopterygiids from the lower Toarcian of Beaujolais and a chemostratigraphic context for ichthyosaur preservation during the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event Running header: Toarcian ichthyosaurs and the T-OAE

We report new ichthyosaur material excavated in lower Toarcian levels of the LafargeHolcim Val d'Azergues quarry in Beaujolais, SE France. A partially articulated skull and a smaller, unprepared but likely subcomplete skeleton preserved in a carbonate concretion are identified as stenopterygiids, a family of wide European distribution during the Early Jurassic. These specimens are among the finest preserved