Ichthyosaurus

From Encyclopediak

Ichthyosaurus, Ik" thi o sor us, an extinct order of fishlike Reptilia, the fossil remains of which occur in the Mesozoic rocks of Europe and North America. The animal had a round, tapering body, covered with thin, smooth skin the head was long, with a long tapering snout, the neck short. The teeth were conical in shape and very numerous, as many as 400 occurring in a single mouth. There was one triangular fin in the middle of the back and a vertical fin on the tail the feet were broad and shaped like paddles. Skeletons of the animal found in rocks show evidences of pulmonary respiration, indicating that the animal lived in the air.