Phantomosaurus

Phantomosaurus is known from a partial skull, lower jaw, vertebrae, ribs, and a hind fin.1

Its lower jaw is about 40 cm long and full of sharp, cone-shaped teeth for catching fish.1

The hind fin was very long and slender, with a long femur, tibia and fibula, which helped it generate lift in the water.1

The vertebrae have two hollows on each centrum, possibly to help the animal float more easily.1

Its braincase is very primitive and looks more like early reptiles such as Youngina than other ichthyosaurs.1

Scientists first thought Phantomosaurus was a species of Shastasaurus, but later studies gave it its own genus.1

Phantomosaurus lived about 247 to 241 million years ago, during the Middle Triassic.3