Nannopterygius
Nannopterygius was a small, fast-swimming marine reptile that lived in the Jurassic seas. It had tiny flippers and a long, streamlined body like a torpedo. It used its big eyes to spot fish and squid in the dim water.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How big was Nannopterygius compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast was it?
Fun facts
Nannopterygius had very small flippers, only 25 to 30 centimeters (10 to 12 inches) long for the front ones and 10 to 15 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) for the back ones.1
Its name means 'small wing' in Greek, because its flippers were so tiny compared to other ichthyosaurs.1
It had a long tail that made up about 1 meter (3.3 feet) of its total length, with a deeply forked fin.1
Nannopterygius had at least 60 disc-shaped vertebrae, making its body flexible and agile.1
Its eyes were large and had a bony ring inside the socket, which helped it see in dark water.1
Because its flippers were so small, Nannopterygius was not good at long-distance swimming but could sprint quickly over short distances.1
The first fossil of Nannopterygius was found in Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, England, and was named Ichthyosaurus enthekiodon in 1871.1
Most asked questions about Nannopterygius
?How big was Nannopterygius?
It was small for an ichthyosaur, measuring up to 3.5 metres (11 feet) long.1
?What did Nannopterygius eat?
It probably ate fish and squid. It was likely an ambush predator that quickly plunged into shoals of fish in shallow seas.1
?Is Nannopterygius a dinosaur?
No, it is not a dinosaur. It is an extinct marine reptile called an ichthyosaur.1
Ask Rex about Nannopterygius
Rex only answers questions about this page. 10 questions a month.
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
- Nannopterygius
- Named by
- Huene 19232
- Group
- Ichthyosaurs
- Family / clade
- Ophthalmosauridae2
- Classification
- Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha2
- Age of the rocks
- 155 to 143 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)2
- Rock formations
- Kimmeridge Clay2
- Countries
- Russia, United Kingdom2
- Fossil records
- 3 in the Paleobiology Database2
- Discovery
- The first Nannopterygius fossil was found in Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, England, and described by J. W. Hulke in 1871 as Ichthyosaurus enthekiodon. In 1922, Friedrich von Huene gave it its own genus name Nannopterygius because of its small flippers.1
Where the facts come from
- Nannopterygius (en.wikipedia.org)
- Nannopterygius 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
Ichthyosaurus
Platypterygius
Stenopterygius
Khudiakovia
Ophthalmosaurus
Chonespondylus
Brachiosaurus
Diplodocus
Allosaurus
Brontosaurus
Compsognathus
Camarasaurus