Eurhinosaurus
Eurhinosaurus was a fast-swimming marine reptile that looked a bit like a dolphin with a swordfish snout. It lived in the warm seas of the Early Jurassic, about 183 to 175 million years ago, and used its long, toothy upper jaw to stab small fish and squid.12
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Fun facts
Eurhinosaurus had a huge overbite: its upper jaw was much longer than its lower jaw, like a swordfish.1
It belonged to a group called leptonectid ichthyosaurs, which were fast and had long, slender snouts.2
The first Eurhinosaurus fossil from Switzerland was found in 1981 by a woman named Carol Spörli in a clay pit near Staffelegg.2
Eurhinosaurus lived during the Toarcian age of the Early Jurassic, about 183 to 175 million years ago.1
Scientists think Eurhinosaurus used its long, toothy upper jaw like a spear to injure or stab small, soft prey.1
Eurhinosaurus was one of the most widespread ichthyosaurs of its time, found across many parts of Western Europe.2
Most asked questions about Eurhinosaurus
?How big was Eurhinosaurus?
About 7 metres (23 feet) long, based on a fossil of an adult individual.1
?What did Eurhinosaurus eat?
It ate small, soft prey like small fish and squid-like cephalopods, using its long, toothy upper jaw to stab them.1
?Could Eurhinosaurus swim fast?
Yes, it was a high-speed swimmer, using its tail fluke to push itself forward through the water.1
?Where did Eurhinosaurus live?
It lived in the open ocean of Western Europe, including what is now England, Germany, France, and Switzerland.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Eurhinosaurus
- Named by
- Abel 19093
- Group
- Ichthyosaurs
- Family / clade
- Neoichthyosauria3
- Classification
- Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha3
- Age of the rocks
- 201 to 183 million years (Hettangian / Toarcian)3
- Rock formations
- Staffelegg3
- Countries
- Switzerland, France, United Kingdom3
- Fossil records
- 3 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Eurhinosaurus was named by Austrian paleontologist Othenio Abel in 1909. The first fossils were found in England and later in other parts of Western Europe.13
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how Eurhinosaurus used its long upper jaw, but they think it may have stabbed prey like a modern swordfish.1
Where the facts come from
- Eurhinosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- First record of the leptonectid ichthyosaur Eurhinosaurus longirostris from the Early Jurassic of Switzerland and its stratigraphic framework | Swiss Journal of Geosciences | Springer Nature Link (link.springer.com)
- Eurhinosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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