Do ichthyosaurs still exist?
Unlike other marine reptile groups, ichthyosaurs disappeared tens of millions of years before the end-Cretaceous extinction (65 million years ago) that marked the end for dinosaurs and the beginning of the age of mammals.
What is a ichthyosaur fossil?
The ichthyosaur fossil is so well preserved that fish bones and scales from its last meal can still be seen inside its ribcage. It is one of the first ichthyosaurs ever discovered with preserved stomach contents from the UK.
What are ichthyosaurs related to?
ichthyosaur, any member of an extinct group of aquatic reptiles, most of which were very similar to porpoises in appearance and habits. These distant relatives of lizards and snakes (lepidosaurs) were the most highly specialized aquatic reptiles, but ichthyosaurs were not dinosaurs.
Why are ichthyosaurs not dinosaurs?
Ichthyosaurs were not dinosaurs, but represent a separate group of marine vertebrates. Because ichthyosaurs were so specialized and modified for life in the ocean, we don’t really know which group of vertebrates were their closest relatives.
Did dolphins evolve from ichthyosaurs?
Mesozoic “fish lizards”, ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that independently became adapted to a life at sea around 200 million years before dolphins.
Did ichthyosaurs survive the K Pg extinction?
It is important to note that some groups of reptiles died out well before the K–T boundary, including flying reptiles (pterosaurs) and sea reptiles (plesiosaurs, mosasaurs, and ichthyosaurs). Among surviving reptile groups, turtles, crocodilians, lizards, and snakes were either not affected or affected only slightly.
What was the name of the fossil that Mary Anning found?
In 1823 Mary was the first to discover the complete skeleton of a Plesiosaurus, meaning ‘near to reptile’. So strange was the specimen and so quickly had the news spread that soon there were rumours that the fossil was a fake.
Why do ichthyosaurs look like dolphins?
Gradually sharks, ichthyosaurs, and dolphins came to look alike because natural selection favored one particular shape over all others for rapid movement through the seas. Figure legend: Convergent Evolution. Although very different species, the dolphin and the icthyasaur look alike.
What is technically not a dinosaur?
Marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs are not dinosaurs. Nor is Dimetrodon or other reptiles in the same group (previously called ‘mammal-like reptiles’ and now called synapsids). None of these other extinct groups shared the characteristic upright stance of dinosaurs.
Are ichthyosaurs related to dolphins?
Although they superficially have a similar shape and they exploit similar environmental niches, we know that ichthyosaurs are reptiles and thus they are not dolphins (mammals) nor sharks (fish).
What dinosaur did dolphins evolve from?
That’s why ichthyosaurs are a textbook staple. Mesozoic “fish lizards”, ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that independently became adapted to a life at sea around 200 million years before dolphins.
How did dolphins evolve?
Scientists believe that dolphins evolved from a hoofed, land-living mammal called ‘Mesonyx’, and returned to live in the seas some fifty million years ago. They may have looked like a large dog originally, but have looked dolphin-shaped for millions of years.