Dino card No. 1374 of 2,027

Paraophthalmosaurus

Say it: PAIR-ee-off-thal-moh-SORE-us

Name means: “near Ophthalmosaurus”1

Ate: MeatIchthyosaursLate Jurassic to Early CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Paraophthalmosaurus was a fast-swimming marine reptile that lived in the Late Jurassic seas. It looked a bit like a dolphin but was actually an ichthyosaur, not a dinosaur. It had a long snout and big eyes to hunt fish and squid.1 2

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

Lived

149 to 143 million years ago4

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Saratov and Ul'yanovsk regions, Russian Federation1 1

Food

Meat1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Paraophthalmosaurus lived during the Tithonian age of the Late Jurassic, about 149 to 143 million years ago.1

Its name means 'near Ophthalmosaurus' because it was thought to be closely related to that other ichthyosaur.1

Scientists now think Paraophthalmosaurus might actually be the same as another ichthyosaur called Nannopterygius.2

The first fossils of Paraophthalmosaurus were found in a brick factory spoil heap in Gornyi, Russia.1 1

It had a femur (thigh bone) with three separate facets, which is a special feature that helps identify it.1

Like all ichthyosaurs, Paraophthalmosaurus gave birth to live young instead of laying eggs.1

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

?How big was Paraophthalmosaurus?

About 3.5 metres (11 feet) long. It was small for an ichthyosaur.3

?Was Paraophthalmosaurus a dinosaur?

No, it was an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur.4

?How fast could Paraophthalmosaurus swim?

It was a fast swimmer over short distances, but not efficient for long-distance swimming. It likely ambushed prey in shallow seas.3

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Myth buster

Myth: Paraophthalmosaurus is a dinosaur.

Truth: It is not a dinosaur. It is an ichthyosaur, a group of marine reptiles that lived in the sea.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Paraophthalmosaurus
Named by: Arkhangelsky 19974
Group: Ichthyosaurs
Family / clade: Ophthalmosauridae4
Classification: Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha4
Age of the rocks: 149 to 143 million years (Tithonian)4
Countries: Russia4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Paraophthalmosaurus was named by Russian paleontologist Arkhangelsky in 1997. The fossils were found in a brick factory spoil heap near Gornyi, Russia.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating whether Paraophthalmosaurus is a valid genus or if it should be considered a synonym of Nannopterygius.2

Where the facts come from

PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Revision of Nannopterygius (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae): reappraisal of the ‘inaccessible’ holotype resolves a taxonomic tangle and reveals an obscure ophthalmosaurid lineage with a wide distribution | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | Oxford Academic (academic.oup.com)
Nannopterygius (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
Paraophthalmosaurus 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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