Amphibious Ichthysoaur discovered

Researchers at the University of California David recently discovered the first amphibious ichthysoaur fossil. This animal existed 250 million years ago, and there had never been a fossil seen of it before. It is one of the ancestors of marine reptiles, a link in their evolution to the sea. This ichthysoaur fossil has oddly large flippers for sea like movement on land. The length of the fossil is 1.5 meters long, and it is thought to be from the Triassic period. Its bones are also heavier than other ichthysoaur relatives discovered. This encourages the theory that these animals came from land before moving to the sea. Scientists say it is important also because this fossil is from four million years after the worst destruction of life on Earth. They believe that it indicates a time frame for theses animals to adapt and recover in different ways from the tragedy.





"First Amphibious Ichthyosaur Discovered, Filling Evolutionary Gap." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.