Chaohusaurus
genus of reptiles (fossil) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chaohusaurus is an extinct genus of basal ichthyopterygian, or ichthyosaur,[3] from the Lower Triassic of Chaohu and Yuanan, China.[4]
Quick Facts Scientific classification, Type species ...
Chaohusaurus | |
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Specimen AGM CHS-5 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | †Grippidia |
Family: | †Grippiidae |
Genus: | †Chaohusaurus Young & Dong, 1972 |
Type species | |
†Chaohusaurus geishanensis Young & Dong, 1972 | |
Species | |
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It was closer in time and form to Cymbospondylus and Mixosaurus than to more advanced genera like Ichthyosaurus. It did not have the dolphin-like form of later ichthyosaurs, but it was fully aquatic. The tail fin is wide-based and short. The neck is rather long, whereas later ichthyosaurs have no neck. There is no dorsal fin.
It was one of the smallest ichthyosaurs, about 70 to 180 cm long. Its weight was about 10 kg.