Ophthalmosaurus

Ophthalmosaurus icenicus · Ophthalmosaurus was a medium-sized, dolphin-like marine reptile called an ichthyosaur that swam the seas of the Jurassic, with fossils found mainly in Europe.

It lived about 165 to 157 million years ago.

Ophthalmosaurus
Photo: Fishboy86164577, CC BY-SA 4.0
Ophthalmosaurus
Photo: User:Captmondo, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ophthalmosaurus
Photo: Emőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderIchthyosauria
FamilyOphthalmosauridae
GenusOphthalmosaurus
SpeciesOphthalmosaurus icenicus

Where its fossils were found

Europe (England, France, Russia).

Fun facts

  • Ophthalmosaurus was named for its enormous eyes, which took up almost the whole side of its skull.
  • Each eye was about 22–23 centimetres across at the outer edge of its bony ring, roughly the size of a dinner plate.
  • It likely swam by powering itself with its tail, using its short limbs mainly for steering, unlike the eel-like swimming of older ichthyosaurs.
  • The upper lobe of its tail fluke was made entirely of soft tissue, while the lower half was built around the tail spine.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).