Fossil ichthyosaur
Place Collected(Object)
: Europe, Germany, Baden-Wurttemberg, Holzmaden Dimensions:length=284; width=82; height=3 cm
Taxonomy
- Attributes
- Objects
- Taxonomy
- Kingdom:
Animalia
- Phylum:
Chordata
- Class:
Reptilia
- Order:
Ichthyopterygia
- Suborder:
Merriamosauriformes
- Family:
Stenopterygiidae
- Genus:
Stenopterygius
- SpecificEpithet:
quadriscissus
Object number: ROMVP52094
Gallery Location:James and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs, Life in the Sea Jurassica, Jurassic Ichthyosaurs, Stenopterygius
DescriptionIchthyosaurs were reptiles, but they were completely adapted for life in the water. They could not leave the water to lay their eggs, and so bore their young live, like whales and dolphins. This specimen of a female Stenopterygius has one baby emerging from its mother, tail first, and more unborn embryos within the abdominal cavity. The unborn embryos may have been expelled by a build-up of gases in the abdominal cavity after the animal died and was buried.
