Dino card No. 1411 of 2,027

Pervushovisaurus

Say it: per-VUSH-oh-VORE-us

Name means: “Pervushov's lizard, after a Russian scientist”1

Ate: MeatIchthyosaursEarly Cretaceous to Late CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Pervushovisaurus was a fast-swimming marine reptile that looked like a dolphin with a long snout full of sharp teeth. It lived in the seas that covered Europe during the time of the dinosaurs, about 113 to 94 million years ago.3 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

113 to 94 million years ago3

Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Russia (Saratov region), France, the United Kingdom (England), and Germany3 1

Food

Meat3 1

Length

5.8 m1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 32 bananas end to end

How big was Pervushovisaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Pervushovisaurus was first thought to be a type of Platypterygius, but scientists later decided it was different enough to be its own genus.1

This ichthyosaur had a straight snout, unlike some of its relatives that had curved jaws.1

Its teeth had square roots with sharp 90-degree angles, which is unusual for an ichthyosaur.1

One species, Pervushovisaurus campylodon, was originally named Ichthyosaurus campylodon in 1846.1

Pervushovisaurus lived during the Cretaceous period, at the same time as dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, but in the ocean.3

Fossils of Pervushovisaurus have been found in the Melovatka Formation in Russia and the La Penthiève Beds in France.1

Like other ichthyosaurs, Pervushovisaurus gave birth to live young, not laying eggs on land.2

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

?How big was Pervushovisaurus?

It was a medium-sized ichthyosaur, measuring about 5.8 metres (19 feet) long.1

?What did Pervushovisaurus eat?

It was a carnivore that ate fish and other sea creatures, using its long snout full of sharp teeth to catch prey.3

?Where did Pervushovisaurus live?

It lived in the seas that covered Europe during the Cretaceous period, and its fossils have been found in Russia, France, and the United Kingdom.1

?Is Pervushovisaurus a dinosaur?

No, it is not a dinosaur. It is an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the ocean at the same time as dinosaurs.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Pervushovisaurus
Named by: Arkhangelsky 19983
Group: Ichthyosaurs
Family / clade: Ophthalmosauridae3
Classification: Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha3
Age of the rocks: 113 to 94 million years (Albian / Cenomanian)3
Rock formations: West Melbury Marly Chalk, Melovatskaya, La Penthiève Beds3
Countries: France, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany3
Fossil records: 14 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The genus Pervushovisaurus was named by Russian paleontologist M. S. Arkhangelsky in 1998, based on a partial skull from the Saratov region of Russia.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are still debating whether the two species Pervushovisaurus bannovkensis and Pervushovisaurus campylodon are truly distinct or if they represent the same animal.1

Where the facts come from

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