Dino card No. 1817 of 2,027

Toretocnemus

Say it: tor-eh-TOCK-neh-mus

Name means: “perforated tibia”1

Ate: MeatIchthyosaursLate TriassicNot technically a dinosaur

Toretocnemus was a small, fast-swimming marine reptile that lived in the Late Triassic oceans. It had a long snout, big eyes, and flippers like a dolphin, and it hunted fish and other sea creatures.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

237 to 227 million years ago3

Late Triassic

Fossils found in

California, USA, and Sonora, Mexico1 3

Food

Meat3 1

Length

1 to 2 m1

scientists think it was probably less than 2 m, with some estimates around 1 m

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 4 house cats nose to tailas long as 11 bananas end to end

How big was Toretocnemus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Toretocnemus means 'perforated tibia' because its shin bone had a hole in it.1

It was first described in 1903 by paleontologist John Campbell Merriam from fossils found in California.1 3

Two species are known: T. californicus and T. zitteli, named after the German paleontologist Karl Alfred von Zittel.1

Toretocnemus was a small ichthyosaur, probably no longer than 2 meters (6.6 feet), and some were only about 1 meter (3.3 feet) long.1

Its fossils have been found in the Hosselkus Limestone in California and the Antimonio Formation in Mexico.1 3

The first fossils were collected by Annie Montague Alexander along the Pit River in Shasta County, California.1

Toretocnemus had three fingers on each flipper, which is unusual for ichthyosaurs.2

AI-made picture of Toretocnemus — An AI-made picture of how Toretocnemus 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.

Ask Rex about Toretocnemus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

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: Toretocnemus
Named by: Merriam 19033
Group: Ichthyosaurs
Family / clade: Toretocnemidae3
Classification: Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha3
Age of the rocks: 237 to 227 million years (Carnian)3
Rock formations: Antimonio, Hosselkus3
Countries: Mexico, USA3
Fossil records: 4 in the Paleobiology Database3
Also known as: Leptocheirus, Merriamia, Rhachitrema (older names now counted as the same animal)3
Discovery: John Campbell Merriam named Toretocnemus in 1903 from fossils found in the Hosselkus Limestone of Shasta County, California, collected by Annie Montague Alexander.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Toretocnemus was a strong open-ocean swimmer or stayed near coasts, because its fossils are only found in a small area.1

Where the facts come from

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