Information about Ophthalmosaurus
| Opthalmosaurus Fossil range: Late Jurassic | ||||||||||||||
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) Ophthalmosaurus sp. Ophthalmosaurus sp. | ||||||||||||||
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||
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Extinct (fossil) | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Ophthalmosaurus discus Seeley, 1874 | ||||||||||||||
Ophthalmosaurus (meaning “eye lizard” in Greek) was an ichthyosaur of the Late Jurassic period (165 to 150 million years ago), named for its extremely large eyes. It had a graceful 6 meter long dolphin-shaped body, and its almost toothless jaw was well adapted for catching squid. Major fossil finds of this species have been recorded in Europe and Argentina.
Like other ichthyosaurs, Ophthalmosaurus gave birth to its pups tail-first to avoid drowning them. Skeletons of unhatched young have been found in over fifty females on fossil finds, and litter sizes ranged from two to eleven pups.
Ophthalmosaurus had a body shaped like a tear-drop and a caudal fin like a half-moon. Its forelimbs were more developed than the hind ones, which suggests that the front fins did the steering while the tail did the propelling. Ophthalmosaurus' chief claim to fame is its eyes which, at 4 inches in diameter, were extremely large in proportion to its body. The eyes occupied almost all of the space in the skull and were protected by bony plates (sclerotic rings), which most likely assisted to maintain the shape of the eyeballs[1] against water pressure at depth. The size of the eyes and the sclerotic rings suggests that Ophthalmosaurus hunted at a depth where there is not much light or that it may have hunted at night when a prey species was more active.
Calculations suggest that a typical Ophthalmosaurus could stay submerged for approximately 20 minutes or more[2]. The swimming speed of Ophthalmosaurus has been estimated at 2.5 m/s or greater, but even assuming a conservative speed of 1 m/s, an Ophthalmosaurus would be able to dive to 600 meters and return to the surface within 20 minutes.
In popular culture
)
Ophthalmosaurus as depicted in Walking with Dinosaurs.
- Ophthalmosaurus was featured in the third episode of the BBC television series Walking with Dinosaurs, with a male pup being one of the main characters.
- An Ophthalmosaurus named "Mo" was a featured character in the movie
External links
Late Jurassic (or Malm) Epoch of the Jurassic Period is the unit of geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago, which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.
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conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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- For other uses of the term, see Fossil (disambiguation)
FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under the DOS operating system.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885
Typical Classes
See below
Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Bateson, 1885
Typical Classes
See below
Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Sauropsida*
Goodrich, 1916
Subclasses
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Goodrich, 1916
Subclasses
- Anapsida
- Diapsida
- Reptilia Laurenti, 1768
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Ichthyosauria
Blainville, 1835
Families
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Blainville, 1835
Families
- Ichthyosauridae
- Leptonectidae
- Mixosauridae
- Ophthalmosauridae
- Shastasauridae
- Stenopterygiidae
- Teretocnemidae
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Harry Govier Seeley (18 February 1839 - 8 January 1909) was a British paleontologist who determined that dinosaurs fell into two great groups, the Saurischians and the Ornithischians, based on the nature of their pelvic bones and joints.
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Ichthyosauria
Blainville, 1835
Families
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Blainville, 1835
Families
- Ichthyosauridae
- Leptonectidae
- Mixosauridae
- Ophthalmosauridae
- Shastasauridae
- Stenopterygiidae
- Teretocnemidae
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Late Jurassic (or Malm) Epoch of the Jurassic Period is the unit of geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago, which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.
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Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. Physically and geologically, Europe is the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, west of Asia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea,
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Motto
En unión y libertad (Spanish)
"In Union and Freedom"
Anthem
Himno Nacional Argentino
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En unión y libertad (Spanish)
"In Union and Freedom"
Anthem
Himno Nacional Argentino
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Sclerotic rings are rings of bone found in the eyes of several groups of vertebrate animals, except for mammals and crocodilians.[1] They can be made up of single bones or small bones together.
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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Type Broadcast radio and television
Country United Kingdom
Availability National
International
Founder John Reith
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Type Broadcast radio and television
Country United Kingdom
Availability National
International
Founder John Reith
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Walking with Dinosaurs was a six-part television series produced by the BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the UK in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel, with Branagh's voice replaced with that of Avery Brooks.
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Pup may refer to:
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- Puppies, young dogs
- other young members of the Canidae family
- a young pinniped, also known as seals
- a young mouse
- a young shark
- a young meerkat
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