In Depth Not a lot is known about Isfjordosaurus other than it was a basal ichthyosaur from the early Triassic. Further Reading – Phylogeny of the Ichthyopterygia. – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(3):473-496. – R. Motani – 1999.
In Depth Qianichthyosaurus is an example of a transitional ichthyosaur similar to Mixosaurus that shows a link between the more primitive ichthyosaurs and the more fish-like advanced forms. One clue to this are the limbs (flippers) which have four digits instead of the more common five which are seen in more primitive ichthyosaur forms. However … Read more
In Depth Besanosaurus was a primitive icthyosaur that lacked a dorsal fin and had a more eel-like tail rather than the fish-like tail seen in later more advanced genera. The jaws were long and thin, filled with small conical teeth for trapping marine organisms. The eyes that were around twenty centimetres in diameter may have … Read more
In Depth Utatsusaurus is an important entry in the fossil record concerning marine reptiles as it is often considered one of the first ichthyosaurs and as such it is used by some as the bench mark for identifying basal (primitive) features in ichthyosaurs. This includes skeletal features similar to diapsid reptiles, today the group that … Read more
In Depth The best specimen of Grippia was destroyed in World War II, so today we have only this description and other less complete specimens left to study. This makes the key question about what this early ichthyosaur ate very difficult to answer. Early ideas had Grippia down as a predator of armoured prey like … Read more
In Depth As a late Triassic ichthyosaur, Toretocnemus displays some features that show a trend similar to that seen in other transitory ichthyosaurs like Mixosaurus, developing the advanced features that are more commonly associated with later forms like Ichthyosaurus. For a long time Toretocnemus was the only member of its group of ichthyosaurs until the … Read more