Ichthyosaurus Fossil range: Early Jurassic
A pair of Ichthyosaurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Order: Ichthyosauria Family: Ichthyosauridae de la Beche & Conybeare, 1821 Genus: Ichthyosaurus de la Beche & Conybeare, 1821
Species
I. For general context see Jurassic. The Early Jurassic (in geology referred to as the Lower Jurassic, originally (and still in Europe the Chordates ( Phylum Chordata) are a group of Animals that includes the Vertebrates together with several closely related Invertebrates Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers Ichthyosaurs ( Greek for 'fish lizard' - ιχθυς / ichthyos meaning 'fish' and σαυρος / sauros meaning 'lizard' were giant Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche ( February 10, 1796 &ndash April 13, 1855) was an English Geologist who helped pioneer early William Daniel Conybeare FRS ( 7 June, 1787 - 12 August, 1857) dean of Llandaff, one of the most distinguished of English In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. breviceps Owen, 1881 I. Sir Richard Owen KCB ( Lancaster, July 20 1804 &ndash December 18 1892) was an English Biologist communis (type) I. In biology a type is that which fixes a name to a Taxon. Depending on the nomenclature code which is applied to the organism in question a type may be a specimen conybeari Lydekker, 1888

Fossilized Ichthyosaurus skeleton. Richard Lydekker ( July 25, 1849 - April 16, 1915) was an English naturalist, Geologist and writer of numerous

Ichthyosaurus (derived from Greek ιχθυς meaning 'fish' and σαυρος meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of reptile, belonging to the aquatic ichthyosaur order, which was named after it. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia are air-breathing Cold-blooded Vertebrates that have skin covered in scales as opposed to hair or feathers Ichthyosaurs ( Greek for 'fish lizard' - ιχθυς / ichthyos meaning 'fish' and σαυρος / sauros meaning 'lizard' were giant It is among the best known ichthyosaur genera. Ichthyosaurus was the first complete fossil to be discovered in the early 1800's by Mary Anning in England. [Essesials of Anthropology 6th addition]

Ichthyosaurus with a human to scale.

Ichthyosaurus was smaller than most of its relatives, measuring 2 m (6 ft 8 inches) in length. Hundreds of incredibly well-preserved, fossilised skeletons have been found in Jurassic rock at Holzmaden, Germany. FOSSIL is a standard protocol for allowing serial communication for Telecommunications programs under the DOS Operating system. The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Ma (million years ago to  Ma that is from the end of the Triassic to the beginning Holzmaden is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany that lies between Stuttgart and Ulm. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Some of the bones were still articulated. Some fossils still had baby specimens inside them, indicating that Ichthyosaurus (and other ichthyosaurs) were viviparous. A viviparous Animal is an animal employing vivipary: the embryo develops inside the body of the mother as opposed to outside in an egg ( Ovipary Similar finds in the related Stenopterygius also show this. Stenopterygius is an extinct genus of Ichthyosaur from the Early to Middle Jurassic ( Toarcian - Aalenian) from Europe The German fossils also featured the outline of Ichthyosaurus's skin, revealing that it had a fleshy dorsal fin on its back and a large caudal fin. A dorsal fin is a Fin located on the backs of some Fishes Whales Dolphins and Porpoises as well as the (extinct The Anatomy of Fish is primarily governed by the physical characteristics of Water, which is much denser than air holds a relatively small amount of dissolved Other ichthyosaur fossils showed this feature was not limited to Ichthyosaurus.

Ichthyosaurus ear bones were solid, probably transferring water vibrations to the inner ear. The ear is the sense organ that detects Sounds The Vertebrate ear shows a common biology from Fish to Humans with variations The inner Ear is the bony labyrinth, a system of passages comprising two main functional parts the organ of hearing or Cochlea Still, hunting by sight was the creature's main feeding activity; it had huge, sensitive eyes, protected by bony shields. Eyes are organs that detect Light, and send signals along the Optic nerve to the visual areas of the brain Coprolites of Ichthyosaurus reveal that its diet consisted of fish and squid. A Coprolite is Fossilized animal dung Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Squid are marine Cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species

It was initially believed that Ichthyosaurus laid eggs on land, but fossil evidence shows that in fact the females gave birth to live young. As such, they were well-adapted to life as fully pelagic organisms (i. e. they never came onto land). The babies were born tail first to prevent them from drowning in the water.