Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that appeared on Earth about 250 million years ago. Their name means a lizard fish. In appearance, they resembled modern dolphins.
For their time, ichthyosaurs were relatively small animals — from 2 to 4 meters in length on average. But some giants reached 23 meters. The streamlined body could move quickly in the water. Elongated jaws with sharp teeth helped to catch prey — small fish and squid. Large eyes were able to catch the light even at a great depth. The tail fin of the ichthyosaurs resembled a shark one. And their ears consisted of hard bones that were able to detect vibration: thanks to this, the animals could hear prey or relatives at a great distance.
Ichthyosaurs spent their entire lives in the sea, only occasionally rising to the surface to breathe air. Unlike other reptiles, they did not lay eggs, but gave birth to live cubs: the fossilized remains of adult females with embryos inside evidence this. Small ichthyosaurs were born with their tails forward, like modern mammals from the order Cetacea. That allowed them not to drown in seawater at birth.
A 12-year-old Mary Anning from Britain discovered the first complete Ichthyosaurus skeleton in 1812. Her brother Joseph Anning found a huge skull on the seashore and mistook it for the remains of a large prehistoric crocodile. The discovery did not surprise him, but it greatly fascinated his younger sister. Mary Anning spent several months going ashore and sorting through the rocks until she found the missing parts of the fossil remains. In her lifetime, the young researcher’s achievement was not noted in any way, but many years later one of the species of ichthyosaurs was named in her honor.
In 1821, the English geologists Henry De la Beche and William Daniel Conybeare compiled the first scientific description of Ichthyosaurus. At the same time, these reptiles received their modern name. Later, in 1835, the same name got a whole group of marine predators. It included temnodontosaurs, shonisaurs, and shastasaurs. All of them were much larger than ichthyosaurs and could reach 23 meters in length.
For their time, ichthyosaurs were relatively small animals — from 2 to 4 meters in length on average. But some giants reached 23 meters. The streamlined body could move quickly in the water. Elongated jaws with sharp teeth helped to catch prey — small fish and squid. Large eyes were able to catch the light even at a great depth. The tail fin of the ichthyosaurs resembled a shark one. And their ears consisted of hard bones that were able to detect vibration: thanks to this, the animals could hear prey or relatives at a great distance.
Ichthyosaurs spent their entire lives in the sea, only occasionally rising to the surface to breathe air. Unlike other reptiles, they did not lay eggs, but gave birth to live cubs: the fossilized remains of adult females with embryos inside evidence this. Small ichthyosaurs were born with their tails forward, like modern mammals from the order Cetacea. That allowed them not to drown in seawater at birth.
A 12-year-old Mary Anning from Britain discovered the first complete Ichthyosaurus skeleton in 1812. Her brother Joseph Anning found a huge skull on the seashore and mistook it for the remains of a large prehistoric crocodile. The discovery did not surprise him, but it greatly fascinated his younger sister. Mary Anning spent several months going ashore and sorting through the rocks until she found the missing parts of the fossil remains. In her lifetime, the young researcher’s achievement was not noted in any way, but many years later one of the species of ichthyosaurs was named in her honor.
In 1821, the English geologists Henry De la Beche and William Daniel Conybeare compiled the first scientific description of Ichthyosaurus. At the same time, these reptiles received their modern name. Later, in 1835, the same name got a whole group of marine predators. It included temnodontosaurs, shonisaurs, and shastasaurs. All of them were much larger than ichthyosaurs and could reach 23 meters in length.
