Ichthyosaurus communis
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''Ichthyosaurus'' (derived from
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
' () meaning 'fish' and ' () meaning 'lizard') is a
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, altho ...
s from the
Early Jurassic The Early Jurassic Epoch (geology), Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic series (stratigraphy), Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-J ...
(
Hettangian The Hettangian is the earliest age and lowest stage of the Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (My ...
-
Pliensbachian The Pliensbachian is an age of the geologic timescale and stage in the stratigraphic column. It is part of the Early or Lower Jurassic Epoch or Series and spans the time between 190.8 ± 1.5 Ma and 182.7 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago). The Plien ...
), with possible
Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...
record, from
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
(
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
). It is among the best known ichthyosaur genera, as it is the
type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearing type of a nominal f ...
of the
order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
Ichthyosauria Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, altho ...
.Maisch MW, Matzke AT. 2000. The Ichthyosauria. ''Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie)'' 298: 1-159McGowan C, Motani R. 2003. Ichthyopterygia. – In: Sues, H.-D. (ed.): ''Handbook of Paleoherpetology, Part 8, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil'', 175 pp., 101 figs., 19 plts; MünchenMaisch MW, Reisdorf AG, Schlatter R, Wetzel A. 2008. A large skull of Ichthyosaurus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Lower Sinemurian (Lower Jurassic) of Frick (NW Switzerland). ''Swiss Journal of Geosciences'' 101: 617-627.


History of discovery

''Ichthyosaurus'' was the first complete fossil to be discovered in the early 19th century by
Mary Anning Mary Anning (21 May 1799 – 9 March 1847) was an English fossil collector, dealer, and palaeontologist who became known around the world for the discoveries she made in Jurassic marine fossil beds in the cliffs along the English Channel ...
in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
; the holotype of ''I. communis'', no coll. number given, was a fairly complete specimen discovered by Mary and Joseph Anning around 1814 in
Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...
but was reported as lost by McGowan (1974) in his review of the latipinnate
ichthyosaurs Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, alt ...
of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The name ''Ichthyosaurus'' was first used by Charles König in 1818, but it was not used in a formal scientific description, with the earliest described ichthyosaur being ''Proteosaurus'' by James Everard Home in 1819 for a skeleton which is now attributed to ''
Temnodontosaurus platyodon ''Temnodontosaurus'' (Greek for "cutting-tooth lizard"temno, meaning "to cut", odont meaning "tooth" and sauros meaning "lizard") is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Jurassic period. They lived between 200 and 175 million years ag ...
.''
Henry De la Beche Sir Henry Thomas De la Beche KCB, FRS (10 February 179613 April 1855) was an English geologist and palaeontologist, the first director of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, who helped pioneer early geological survey methods. He was the f ...
and William Conybeare in 1821 considered ''Ichthyosaurus'' to have taxonomic priority over ''Proteosaurus'' and named the species ''I. communis'' based on BMNH 2149 (now NHMUK PV R1158), a now partially lost specimen now assigned to ''
Temnodontosaurus ''Temnodontosaurus'' (Greek for "cutting-tooth lizard"temno, meaning "to cut", odont meaning "tooth" and sauros meaning "lizard") is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Jurassic period. They lived between 200 and 175 million years ag ...
'' that was discovered and collected between 1811-12. During the 19th century, almost all fossil ichthyosaurs were attributed to ''Ichthyosaurus'', resulting in the genus having over 50 species by 1900. These species were subsequently moved to separate genera or synonymised with other species. ''I. anningae'', described in 2015 from a
fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
found in the early 1980s in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England, was named after Anning. The fossil was acquired by Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery, where it was misidentified as a
plaster cast A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a pregnant belly, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – p ...
. In 2008, Dean Lomax, from the
University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...
, recognised it as genuine and worked with Judy Massare, of the
State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...
, to establish it as a new species.


Description

''Ichthyosaurus'' was smaller than most of its relatives, with the largest specimen of ''I. somersetensis'' measuring up to in length and in body mass. In comparison, other species were much smaller. ''I. communis'' and ''I. larkini'' measured up to in length and in body mass, while ''I. conybeari'' measured up to in length and in body mass. Many ''Ichthyosaurus'' fossils are well-preserved and fully articulated. Some fossils still had baby specimens inside them, indicating that ''Ichthyosaurus'' was
viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...
. Similar finds in the related ''
Stenopterygius ''Stenopterygius'' is an extinct genus of thunnosaur ichthyosaur known from Europe (England, France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland). This genus of ichthyosaur was about long and weighed .Huene F. von 1939. Ein ganzes Ichthyosaurier-Skelett ...
'' also show this.Böttcher R. 1990. Neue Erkenntnisse über die Fortpflanzungsbiologie der Ichthyosaurier. ''Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie)'' 164: 1-51Martill D.M. 1993. Soupy Substrates: A Medium for the Exceptional Preservation of Ichthyosaurs of the Posidonia Shale (Lower Jurassic) of Germany. ''Kaupia - Darmstädter Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte'' 2: 77-97 Jurassic ichthyosaurs had a fleshy
dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...
on their back as well as a large
caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
. ''Icthyosaurus'' is distinguished from other ichthyosaurs by having a wide forefin with 5 or more digits with an anterior digital bifurcation, but the morphology of the
humerus The humerus (; ) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of a roun ...
and
coracoid A coracoid (from Greek κόραξ, ''koraks'', raven) is a paired bone which is part of the shoulder assembly in all vertebrates except therian mammals (marsupials and placentals). In therian mammals (including humans), a coracoid process is prese ...
s are also distinct from that of other Lower Jurassic ichthyosaurs, as is the arrangement of the
dermal bone A dermal bone or investing bone or membrane bone is a bony structure derived from intramembranous ossification forming components of the vertebrate skeleton including much of the skull, jaws, gill covers, shoulder girdle and fin spines rays (lepi ...
s, though the suture lines used to diagnose these are not always visible.


Classification

This
cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to d ...
below follows the topology from a 2010 analysis by Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Erin E. Maxwell.


Palaeobiology

''Ichthyosaurus'' ear bones were solid, probably transferring water vibrations to the
inner ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...
. Even so, anatomical features demonstrate that it was a visually-oriented predator; it had huge, sensitive eyes, protected by bony shields.
Coprolite A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name is de ...
s of ''Ichthyosaurus'' reveal that its diet consisted of fish and squid. 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.


Cultural significance

Joseph Victor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a retired major in the Baden army, was a civil engineer and member of the commission for regulating the ...
s poem ''Der Ichthyosaurus'' describes its extinction in humouristic verses. A monument on
Hohentwiel Hohentwiel is an extinct volcano in the Hegau region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany The mountain is west of the city of Singen and 20 miles (30 km) from Lake Constance. Hohentwiel began forming, along with the chain of vol ...
cites it as well. The poem has been translated among others by
Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...
Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...
, Gaudeamus! Humorous Poems by Joseph Viktor von Scheffel
Ebook-Nr. 35848 on gutenberg.org
/ref> Some of the stanzas:


See also

* List of ichthyosaurs *
Timeline of ichthyosaur research This timeline of ichthyosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ichthyosauromorphs, a group of secondarily aquatic marine reptiles whose later members superficially resembled dolphins, shar ...


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q131565 Ichthyosaurs of Europe Early Jurassic ichthyosaurs Early Jurassic reptiles of Europe Late Triassic ichthyosaurs Late Triassic reptiles of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1821 Rhaetian first appearances Taxa named by Henry De la Beche Taxa named by William Conybeare Early Jurassic extinctions Ichthyosauromorph genera