April 6, 1821, the description of the very first ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs by William Conybeare published. Both fossils were found by palaeontologist Mary Anning 🐉💦
https://t.co/g2mhuFyHM5

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Among my favourite animals are - the 'fish lizards' - and it's always a joy to look at their fossils (we have many of them in the UK). So I _loved_ compiling current thinking on them for my new book Ancient Sea Reptiles, out now from and

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. . . They most likely hunted other smaller ichthyosaurs.

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The main chapters cover ‘lesser known’ marine reptile groups, then the geologically longer-lived the diverse and often long-necked those phenomenal giant lizards the and, finally, the sea (images by Brian Choo)

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Young ichthyosaurs are caught between a rock and a hard place - a pair of fishing basal tetanurans and a lurking Rhomaleosaurus. Not as happy with this one as I would like but I learnt lots about how to paint water and caustics!

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Today is but unfortunately, I have yet to draw any whales, which is a damn shame. As compensation, here’s Ichthyosaurs instead.

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Did giant ichthyosaurs swim in pods, and migrate to give birth? Just like whales do today, but in the Triassic? We think so, at least based on a spectacular site in eastern Nevada called Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park... 1/

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A friendly reminder that I also drew ichthyosaurs

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After seeing all of the interesting art, I decided to do my own. A group of kids gathered around watch the Ichthyosaurs up close.

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April 6, 1821, the description of the very first ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs by William Conybeare published. Both fossils were found by palaeontologist Mary Anning 🪨🔨
https://t.co/g2mhuFy9Wx

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you know gathering all my progress on on giant marine reptiles I got like less than 20 of the biggest, excluding other large giant ichthyosaurs, large marine crocodiles, turtles and other sauropterygians, is really a long way to follow if I can get them all...

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A great past vs modern interpretation of Ichthyosaurus by
A recent paper came out on soft tissue reconstruction on ichthyosaurs that everyone should check out.
https://t.co/V0NV45weNb

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This is a phenomenon in its own right, as it evolved in swordfishes/sailfishes, leptonectid ichthyosaurs like Eurhinosaurus, Protosphyraena (left), and thalattosaurs like Xinpusaurus (right).

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On to the second kind of ichthyosaur I drew: the Undorosaurus relative. Two specimens of a distinct-but-yet-unnamed genus of ichthyosaur resembling Undorosaurus are found at the site. This suggests these ichthyosaurs come from a lineage that moved south from the boreal realm…

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I finally finished this one! A small trawling the seabed while small (spec) ichthyosaurs trail behind and pick off what the big one tosses up…and poops out

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DIGITAL ICHTHYOSAURS AND REBUILDING IN THREE DIMENSIONS - https://t.co/x41Z3JowXm After 200 years of study there remain many questions about the biology of the Jurassic fish-like sea dragons, ichthyosaurs. One for the whole family!

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A salute to ichthyosaurs this splendid beasts that I've had an excuse to restore several times recently. Marine reptiles are really fun to draw and these have been a blast to work on. Here's Temnodontosaurus, Ichthyosaurus, Shonisaurus and Leptonectes.

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It’s the “Mother of Paleontology,” Mary Anning’s, birthday! Born in 1799, she hailed from Dorset, England, & grew up collecting fossils. A few of her many accomplishments include unearthing one of the first ichthyosaurs & discovering Dimorphodon & Plesiosaurus!

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