ichthyosaur

American  

[ik-thee-uh-sawr] / ˈɪk θi əˌsɔr /

noun

1. any fishlike marine reptile of the extinct order Ichthyosauria, ranging from 4 to 40 feet (1.2 to 12 meters) in length and having a round, tapering body, a large head, four paddlelike flippers, and a vertical caudal fin.

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ichthyosaur British  

/ ˈɪkθɪəˌsɔː, ˌɪkθɪəˈsɔːrəs /

noun

1. any extinct marine Mesozoic reptile of the order Ichthyosauria, which had a porpoise-like body with dorsal and tail fins and paddle-like limbs See also plesiosaur

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ichthyosaur Scientific  

/ ĭk′thē-ə-sôr′ /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

• ichthyosaurian adjective
• ichthyosauroid adjective

Etymology

Origin of ichthyosaur

First recorded in 1820–30; ichthyosaurus

Example Sentences

Scientists have long known that ichthyosaur species before and after this time period were very different from one another, even though they occupied similar ecological roles.

From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026

However, this marks the first new genus of Early Jurassic ichthyosaur described from the region in more than 100 years.

From Science Daily • Feb. 24, 2026

Her mineralized vertebra of a juvenile Jurassic ichthyosaur exudes: “Now I am a treasure for you to love—a part of me to call your own.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Scientists say that marks on its skull suggest that the "sword dragon" may have been killed by a bite to the head, possibly inflicted by a much larger species of ichthyosaur.

From BBC • Oct. 9, 2025

The skin of the ichthyosaur was smooth like that of a whale, and its food was largely fish and cephalopods, as the fossil contents of its stomach prove.

From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon