Ichthyosauria[a] is an order of large extinct marine reptiles sometimes referred to as "ichthyosaurs", although the term is also used for wider clades in which the order resides.

Ichthyosaur, any member of an extinct group of aquatic reptiles, most of which were very similar to porpoises in appearance and habits. These distant relatives of lizards and snakes (lepidosaurs) were …

Oct 19, 2023 · Learn about these prehistoric marine reptiles and see how features, such as basketball-sized eyes and a vertical tail, helped the ichthyosaur secure a place at the top of the ancient food chain.

"Ichthyosaur" means "fish lizard," while "Ichthyopterygia" means "fish paddle." Both names are apt. The earliest ichthyosaurs had long, flexible bodies and probably swam by undulating, like living eels.

Ichthyosaurs (Greek for "fish lizard"— ιχθυς or ichthyos, meaning "fish" and σαυρος or sauros, meaning "lizard") were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins, with an elongated, toothed …

Ichthyosaurs were aquatic reptiles that resembled dolphins that lived 160 million years ago in the Mesozoic era. Their name Ichthyosaur is derived from 2 ancient Greek words, “ichthys” meaning fish, …

As it happens, Temnodontosaurus was the very first ichthyosaur to be discovered, by 12-year-old Mary Anning in 1811, who found remains of its skull and vertebrae on England’s Dorset coast. Despite …