Rettile ittiosauro

There’s an Ichthyosaur fossil displayed at the Museo di Storia Naturale di Venezia.

Ichthyosaur - Venice - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

They evolved around 250 million years ago and some survived until 90 million years ago. Ichthyosaurians breathed air, were warm-blooded, and gave birth to live young. They may even have had blubber for insulation. They evolved from an unidentified group of land reptiles which returned to the sea, exactly like whales and dolphins would do with the rise of the mammals. They’re a wonderful example of convergent evolution.

Ichthyosaur - Venice - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Stenopterygius quadtiscussus.
Giurassico.
Holzmaden, Germania.

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