Dino card No. 1309 of 2,027

Omphalosaurus

Say it: om-fuh-loh-SORE-us

Name means: “button lizard”1

Ate: MeatIchthyosaursEarly Triassic to Middle TriassicNot technically a dinosaur

Omphalosaurus was a marine reptile that lived in the Triassic Period, not a dinosaur. It had strange button-shaped teeth that it used to crush hard-shelled animals like ammonites. This reptile was a slow swimmer that probably sucked in its food and then ground it up.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 237 million years ago3

Early Triassic to Middle Triassic

Fossils found in

Nevada, USA; Germany; Poland; Svalbard and Jan Mayen3

Food

Meat1

Length

up to 5 m1

Weight

up to 783 kg1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 26 big dogs

as long as 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 28 bananas end to endas heavy as 160 watermelons

How big was Omphalosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Omphalosaurus means 'button lizard' because its teeth look like small buttons.1

Its teeth were arranged in a pavement-like pattern, not in neat rows like most other ichthyosaurs.2

The enamel on its teeth had a texture like an orange peel, which helped it grip and crush shells.1

Omphalosaurus had hollow ribs, which is unusual for an ichthyosaur and may have helped it float or stay buoyant.2

It lived during the Early to Middle Triassic, about 248 to 237 million years ago.3

Fossils of Omphalosaurus have been found in Nevada, Germany, Poland, and Svalbard.3

AI-made picture of Omphalosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Omphalosaurus 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 Omphalosaurus

?How big was Omphalosaurus?

Omphalosaurus was about 5 metres (16 feet) long and weighed more than 783 kilograms (1,726 pounds).1

?What did Omphalosaurus eat?

Omphalosaurus ate hard-shelled animals like ammonites and possibly bivalves. It crushed them with its button-like teeth.1

?Where were Omphalosaurus fossils found?

Fossils have been found in the western United States, Poland, Austria, and the island of Spitsbergen off Norway.1

?When did Omphalosaurus live?

Omphalosaurus lived during the Early to Middle Triassic Period, about 248 to 237 million years ago.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Omphalosaurus
Named by: Merriam 19063
Group: Ichthyosaurs
Family / clade: Omphalosauridae3
Classification: Ichthyosauromorpha3
Age of the rocks: 249 to 237 million years ()3
Rock formations: Prida, Lercheck Limestone, Karchowice3
Countries: USA, Germany, Poland, Svalbard3
Fossil records: 6 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The first Omphalosaurus fossil was found in 1902 by V. C. Osmont in Nevada, USA. It was named by John C. Merriam in 1906.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Omphalosaurus is a true ichthyosaur or a more primitive relative, because its skull and teeth are so different from other ichthyosaurs.1

Where the facts come from

Omphalosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Omphalosaurus 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.

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