Holzmaden, Germany Lower Jurassic, around 200 million years 173 x 82 cm (200 x 100 cm stone disc) Provenance: Swiss private collection The name ichthyosaur comes from the Greek and means "fish lizard". This extinct group of reptiles originally descended from land lizards and only later became aquatic, marine organisms. Their bodies show a strong resemblance to those of sharks and dolphins. It is therefore not surprising that the first finds puzzled science. It can be assumed that the ichthyosaurs were very good and fast swimmers as well as excellent divers, so they reached depths of more than 1000 meters. Their large eyes played a central role. The reptile is said to have possessed a visual range of 500 meters underwater. The annular sclerotical ring, a bone structure bounding the eye, protected and supported it from the pressure and speed while swimming and diving. Since they still needed air to breathe, the reptiles had to come to the surface of the water each time. Numerous fossil finds show that ichthyosaurs were viviparous. Females did not go ashore to lay eggs, and the young were born fully formed. Ichthyosaurs fed predatorily on fish, belemnites, or even small turtles. Ichthyosaurs lived in the Mesozoic over a period of more than 150 million years and became extinct about 90 million years ago, i.e. about 30 million years before the dinosaurs. The present specimen is in perfect original condition and shows practically no signs of restoration. ICHTHYOSAURIER "STENOPTERYGIUS QUADRISCISSUS" Deutschland, Holzmaden Unterer Jura, um 200 Millionen Jahre 173 cm x 82 cm (200 x 100 cm mit Stein) Provenienz: Schweizer Privatsammlung Der Name Ichthyosaurier stammt aus dem Griechischen und bedeutet "Fischechse" ("ichthys" für Fisch, "sauros" für Echse). Die heute ausgestorbene Gruppe von Reptilien stammte ursprünglich von Landechsen ab und wurde erst sp?ter zu wasserbewohnenden, marinen Organismen. Es ist anzunehmen, dass die Ichthyosaurier sehr gute und schnelle Schwimmer sowie ausgezeichnete Taucher waren und ohne weiteres Tiefen von über 1000 Metern erreichen konnten. Ihre grossen Augen spielten eine zentrale Rolle. Nach heutigem Wissenstand soll das Reptil eine Sehweite von unglaublichen 500 Metern unter Wasser besessen haben. Ichthyosaurier ern?hrten sich r?uberisch von Fischen, Belemniten oder auch kleinen Schildkr?ten. Das vorliegende Exemplar ist in einem wunderbaren Originalzustand und weist nur minimalste Restaurationsspuren auf.
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