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| Cymbospondylus |
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Cymbospondylus
nevadanus |
| Classification:
Sauropsida / Diapsida - Ichthyosaur |
| Pronounced: |
Diet: Carnivore |
| Means:
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Length: 18-30 feet |
| When Lived:
240-210 MYA |
Weight:
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| Found: Nevada,
USA; Germany |
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| A powerful dolphin-like swimmer whose sharp teeth ruled the Triassic
seas.
Type: Marine reptile
Size: 10m long
Diet: Carnivore
Predators: Few, if any, predators once fully grown
Lived: Late Triassic, 240-210 million years ago.
Cymbospondylus was an early member of the Icthyosaur group, which
looked slightly like modern dolphins. Cymbospondylus had no dorsal fin
and its tail was long like an eel's.Its long tail made it a powerful swimmer, it patrolled in deep
offshore waters looking for prey. Cymbospondylus had a skull 1m long with short, sharp teeth good for
grabbing quite large reptiles but it favoured fish and cephalopods such
as ammonites. Cymbospondylus appears to have given birth to live young as it had no
way to lay eggs.
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| Cymbospondylus was an early Ichthyosaur that lived in
the middle of the Triassic period. Despite its primitive nature, it was
also one of the largest Icthyosaurs, and fossils range from 18 ft (6
meters) up to 30 ft long (10 meters). It was one of the least fish-like
of the Icthyosaurus, lacking a dorsal fin and fluked tail. It did,
however, have an elongated snout like other Icthyosaurus; although still
classified as an Icthyosaur of the primitive shastasaurid group, its
eel-like
resemblance have led to speculation as to whether Cymbospondylus
was a true Icthyosaur. The eel-like
tail of
Cymbospondylus made up almost half the total body length, and it is
possible that the tail was used as a primary swimming mechanism, with
the paddle-like limbs serving use primarily as underwater
stabilizers.
Cymbospondylus fossils have been found in both Germany and
Nevada, and the first species was named by Joseph Leidy in 1868.
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