Eurhinosaurus
Sign in to saveEurhinosaurus (Greek for 'well-nosed lizard'; eu- meaning 'well or good', rhino- meaning 'nose' and -saurus meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian), ranging between 183 and 175 million years. Fossils of this genus have been found across Western Europe, such as in England, southern and northern Germany, the Benelux, France and Switzerland.
Wikidata facts
- Parent taxon
- Leptonectidae
- Image
- Eurhinosaurus longirostris 783.jpg
- Length
- 5
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Sources (1)
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Encyclopedic overview
8 sectionsContents
- History and discovery
- Description
- Classification
- Palaeobiology
- Feeding mechanisms and diet
- Palaeoenvironment
- See also
- References
Eurhinosaurus (Greek for 'well-nosed lizard'; eu- meaning 'well or good', rhino- meaning 'nose' and -saurus meaning 'lizard') is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian), ranging between 183 and 175 million years. Fossils of this genus have been found across Western Europe, such as in England, southern and northern Germany, the Benelux, France and Switzerland.
Eurhinosaurus were large-bodied, with a fossil of an adult individual reaching in length. A distinctive feature of the genus is that their upper jaws protruded past their lower jaws (comparable to billfish) and were covered with up and downwards-pointing teeth. They inhabited the open ocean.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Eurhinosaurus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.