Mixosaurus
Extinct genus of reptiles / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Mixosaurus cornalianus?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Mixosaurus is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic (Anisian to Ladinian, about 250-240 Mya) ichthyosaur. Its fossils have been found near the Italy–Switzerland border and in South China.[1]
Mixosaurus | |
---|---|
Dorsal view of fossil showing top of skull | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | †Ichthyosauria |
Family: | †Mixosauridae |
Subfamily: | †Mixosaurinae |
Genus: | †Mixosaurus Baur, 1887 |
Species | |
The genus was named in 1887 by George H. Baur. The name means "Mixed Lizard", and was chosen because it appears to have been a transitional form between the eel-shaped ichthyosaurs such as Cymbospondylus and the later dolphin-shaped ichthyosaurs, such as Ichthyosaurus. Baur named Mixosaurus as a new genus because its forefin was sufficiently different from that of Ichthyosaurus.[3]
Mixosaurus includes three species.[2][1] Previously this number was bigger, and Mixosaurus was considered as the most common genus of Triassic ichthyosaurs,[3] whose fossils have been found all over the world, including China, Timor, Indonesia, Italy, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Canada, as well as Alaska and Nevada in the US.