Protoichthyosaurus
Protoichthyosaurus was an ancient marine reptile that looked like a dolphin with a long snout and flippers. It swam in the warm, shallow seas that covered parts of England during the Early Jurassic, about 200 million years ago.1
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Fun facts
Protoichthyosaurus was first named in 1979 by Robert M. Appleby, but for a while scientists thought it was just a type of Ichthyosaurus. In 2017, a new study showed it was a separate genus.1
There are two species: P. prostaxalis, which could reach up to 4 metres long, and the smaller P. applebyi, which was at most 2 metres long.1
Its flippers had a special arrangement of wrist bones that helped scientists tell it apart from other ichthyosaurs.1
Protoichthyosaurus had a large, triangular bone in its upper jaw (the maxilla) that stuck out farther than its nasal bones, a unique feature.1
Many of the fossils come from the Charles Moore collection, which sometimes mixed bones from different animals together, making it tricky for scientists.1
Its teeth had deep grooves running down to the roots, and they were firmly anchored in the jaw.1
Most asked questions about Protoichthyosaurus
?Was Protoichthyosaurus a dinosaur?
No, it was an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea. Ichthyosaurs are not dinosaurs.1
?How big was Protoichthyosaurus?
It was medium sized. P. prostaxalis reached up to 4 metres (13 ft) long, while P. applebyi was smaller, at most 2 metres (6.6 ft).1
?What did Protoichthyosaurus eat?
Its teeth had deep grooves and were firmly rooted, which suggests it ate fish and other small sea animals, but the sources do not give a specific diet.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Protoichthyosaurus is a dinosaur.
Truth: It is not a dinosaur. It is an ichthyosaur, a group of marine reptiles that lived in the sea at the same time as dinosaurs.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Protoichthyosaurus
- Named by
- Appleby 19794
- Group
- Ichthyosaurs
- Family / clade
- Ichthyosauridae4
- Classification
- Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha4
- Age of the rocks
- 201 to 184 million years (Hettangian / Pliensbachian)4
- Rock formations
- Blue Lias4
- Countries
- United Kingdom4
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Robert M. Appleby named Protoichthyosaurus in 1979 based on fossils from Street, Somerset, England. The main specimen (BRLSI M3553) is a partial skeleton.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if a third species, P. fortimanus, is really a separate species or just another name for one of the other two.1
Where the facts come from
- Protoichthyosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- The affinities of Liassic and later ichthyosaurs | The Palaeontological Association (palass.org)
- ‘Fake fin’ discovery reveals new ichthyosaur species (manchester.ac.uk)
- Protoichthyosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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