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Ichthyosaur  -  Platypterigius longmani

Top: Artist's impression of Ichthyosaurs Below: Fossilised head and teeth of an Ichthyosaur in Boulia Museum. Ichthyosaurs were reptiles and breathed air. Despite having to breathe at the sea surface they were adapted to a wholly marine life as fast, agile, underwater hunters whose main method of propulsion was the tail. Support for the lower part of the tail was provided by a down-turn of the spine. Strong snout and teeth of the Australian Ichthyosaurs indicate a diet of fish, squid, belemnites and ammonites. They had large eyeballs, suggesting good eyesight; the eyeball was strengthened by a ring of bones. The Platypterigius was the last known genus of Ichthyosaurs; Platypterigius longmani, the Australian Ichthyosaur living in the Cretaceous period, reached about seven metres in length. Skeletal remains indicate that a calf at birth was about two metres long. Young were born alive at sea, tail-first like today's dolphins and had to be pushed to surface quickly so they could take their first breath. Ichthyosaurs lived in the ocean covering much of Central Australia during the Cretaceous Period. Fossils of the head and teeth are on display at Boulia museum and at Kronosaurus Korner, Richmond. Ichthyosaurs appear to have become extinct about 80 million years ago during a particularly stormy period. Plesiosaurs and dinosaurs survived them by 15 million years. Information. ¶   The text above is from display boards at Boulia Museum and at Kronosaurus Corner, Richmond.

21 July 2007

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