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ichthyosaur
[ ik-thee-uh-sawr ]
noun
- any fishlike marine reptile of the extinct order Ichthyosauria, ranging from 4 to 40 feet (1.2 to 12 meters) in length and having a round, tapering body, a large head, four paddlelike flippers, and a vertical caudal fin.
ichthyosaur
/ ˈɪkθɪəˌsɔː; ˌɪkθɪəˈsɔːrəs /
noun
- any extinct marine Mesozoic reptile of the order Ichthyosauria, which had a porpoise-like body with dorsal and tail fins and paddle-like limbs See also plesiosaur
ichthyosaur
/ ĭk′thē-ə-sôr′ /
- Any of various extinct sea reptiles of the genus Ichthyosaurus and related genera, that had a medium-sized to large dolphin-like body with a dorsal fin, four flippers, and a large, crescent-shaped tail. The head had a long beak with sharp teeth, large eyes and earbones, and nostrils near the eyes on top of the skull. Ichthyosaurs were most common and diverse in the Triassic and Jurassic Periods and died out well before the end of the Cretaceous.
Other Words From
- ichthy·o·sauri·an adjective noun
- ichthy·o·sauroid adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of ichthyosaur1
Example Sentences
This revealed a number of specimens including bones from ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs and other ancient sea creatures including ammonites and bivalves, marine crocodiles and sharks.
Experts have identified the bones as belonging to the jaws of a new species of enormous ichthyosaur, a type of prehistoric marine reptile.
Experts now say the fossils are from two giant ichthyosaur reptiles, which could have been 25m long.
Two centuries later, less than 50 miles away, an 11-year-old girl named Ruby Reynolds found a fossil from another ichthyosaur.
A study carried out at the University of Bonn could now settle this dispute once and for all: The microstructure of the fossils indicates that they come from the lower jaw of a gigantic ichthyosaur.
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