Jabalisaurus
Jabalisaurus was a fast-swimming marine reptile that lived in the sea during the Late Jurassic. It looked a bit like a dolphin but had a long snout and big eyes. It hunted fish and squid in warm, shallow waters.1
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Fun facts
The first Jabalisaurus fossil was thought to be an Ophthalmosaurus for many years.1
Its name means 'javelin lizard' because ancient Mexican people used a throwing tool called an atlatl, like a javelin.1
One specimen from Germany is a complete skeleton with soft tissue still preserved.1
Jabalisaurus had a very large eye socket, making its eyes big for seeing in dim water.2
Its bones were made of hydroxyapatite, the same mineral that makes our teeth hard.2
It gave birth to live babies instead of laying eggs, like modern dolphins.2
Most asked questions about Jabalisaurus
?How big was Jabalisaurus?
No exact size is given in the sources, but it was an ichthyosaur about the size of a dolphin. Its skull had a large eye socket, and its snout was slender.13
?What did Jabalisaurus eat?
It was a carnivore that hunted fish and squid in warm, shallow seas.3
?Is Jabalisaurus a dinosaur?
No, it is an ichthyosaur, a type of marine reptile that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur.1
?Where was Jabalisaurus found?
Fossils have been found in Mexico and Germany, in Late Jurassic rocks.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Jabalisaurus was a dinosaur.
Truth: Jabalisaurus was an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that swam in the ocean. It was not a dinosaur.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Jabalisaurus
- Named by
- Barrientos-Lara and Alvarado-Ortega 20213
- Group
- Ichthyosaurs
- Family / clade
- Ophthalmosauridae3
- Classification
- Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha3
- Age of the rocks
- 152 to 149 million years (Kimmeridgian)3
- Rock formations
- La Casita3
- Countries
- Mexico3
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Scientists Barrientos-Lara and Alvarado-Ortega named Jabalisaurus in 2021. The first fossil was found in the La Casita Formation in Coahuila, Mexico.2
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether the German species Jabalisaurus tethyensis is a separate species or the same as the Mexican one.1
Where the facts come from
- Jabalisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Jabalisaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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Ichthyosaurus
Platypterygius
Stenopterygius
Khudiakovia
Ophthalmosaurus
Chonespondylus
Brachiosaurus
Diplodocus
Allosaurus
Brontosaurus
Compsognathus
Camarasaurus