ichthyosaur

ich·thy·o·saur  (kth--sôr) also ich·thy·o·sau·rus (kth--sôrs)

n. pl. ich·thy·o·saurs also ich·thy·o·sau·ri (-sôr)

Any of various extinct fishlike marine reptiles of the order Ichthyosauria of the Triassic Period to the Cretaceous Period, having a porpoiselike head and an elongated, toothed snout.

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[From New Latin ichthyosaurus : Greek ikhthuo-, ichthyo- + Greek sauros, lizard.]

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ichthyosaur  (kth--sôr)

Any of various extinct sea reptiles of the genus Ichthyosaurus and related genera, that had a medium-sized to large dolphin-like body with a dorsal fin, four flippers, and a large, crescent-shaped tail. The head had a long beak with sharp teeth, large eyes and earbones, and nostrils near the eyes on top of the skull. Ichthyosaurs were most common and diverse in the Triassic and Jurassic Periods and died out well before the end of the Cretaceous.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

ichthyosaur - any of several marine reptiles of the Mesozoic having a body like a porpoise with dorsal and tail fins and paddle-shaped limbs archosaur, archosaurian, archosaurian reptile - extinct reptiles including: dinosaurs; plesiosaurs; pterosaurs; ichthyosaurs; thecodonts Ichthyosauria, order Ichthyosauria - extinct marine reptiles: ichthyosaurs ichthyosaurus - ichthyosaurs of the Jurassic stenopterygius, Stenopterygius quadrisicissus - an ichthyosaur of the genus Stenopterygius