Dino card No. 0225 of 2,027

Baisesaurus

Say it: BYE-see-SORE-us

Name means: “Baise lizard”1

Ate: FishIchthyosaursEarly Triassic to Middle TriassicNot technically a dinosaur

Baisesaurus was an ancient marine reptile that swam in the oceans long before dinosaurs ruled the land. It was a strong swimmer with long, compact forelimb bones, and it likely ate fish and other sea creatures.1

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

249 to 247 million years ago4

Early Triassic to Middle Triassic

Fossils found in

Guangxi, China1 2

Food

Fish1

Length

3 m1

at least

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 3 dogs nose to tailas long as 17 bananas end to end

How big was Baisesaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Baisesaurus lived about 248 to 247 million years ago, during the Early Triassic period.2

Its name means 'Baise lizard' after the Baise region in China where its fossils were found.1

The only known fossil of Baisesaurus is a partial skeleton including ribs, vertebrae, and a limb bone.1

Baisesaurus was a basal ichthyosauromorph, meaning it was an early relative of later dolphin-like ichthyosaurs.1

Scientists think Baisesaurus was at least 3 meters (about 10 feet) long, similar in size to another early marine reptile called Utatsusaurus.1

AI-made picture of Baisesaurus — An AI-made picture of how Baisesaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Baisesaurus

?How big was Baisesaurus?

Baisesaurus was at least 3 metres (about 10 feet) long, similar in size to another early marine reptile called Utatsusaurus.1 3

?What did Baisesaurus eat?

Baisesaurus likely ate fish and other sea creatures, based on what related early ichthyosauromorphs ate.1

?When did Baisesaurus live?

Baisesaurus lived about 248 to 247 million years ago, during the Early Triassic period.1

Ask Rex about Baisesaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Baisesaurus
Named by: Ren et al. 20224
Group: Ichthyosaurs
Family / clade: Ichthyosauromorpha4
Classification: Ichthyosauromorpha4
Age of the rocks: 249 to 247 million years ()4
Rock formations: Luolou4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Baisesaurus was named in 2022 by Ren and colleagues based on a partial skeleton found in 2018 in the Luolou Formation of Guangxi, China.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Baisesaurus belongs to the group Ichthyopterygia or is a more primitive ichthyosauromorph.1

Where the facts come from

Baisesaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
A new basal ichthyosauromorph from the Lower Triassic (Olenekian) of Zhebao, Guangxi Autonomous Region, South China - PMC (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Baisesaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex