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ichthyosaur

American

[ik-thee-uh-sawr] / ˈɪk θi əˌsɔr /

noun

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.

ichthyosaur British

/ ˈɪkθɪəˌsɔː /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ichthyosaur Scientific

/ ĭk′thē-ə-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.

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of ichthyosaur

First recorded in 1820–30; see origin at ichthyosaurus

Vocabulary lists containing ichthyosaur

Paleontology: Dinosaurs - Middle School and High School

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

ichthyosaur

For more than two centuries, the Jurassic Coast has yielded thousands of ichthyosaur fossils, ever since pioneering fossil hunter Mary Anning began making historic finds there.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 24, 2026

Researchers identified several anatomical traits in Xiphodracon that have never been documented in any other ichthyosaur.

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

The dolphin-sized ichthyosaur has been named Xiphodracon goldencapensis, or the "sword dragon of Dorset" and is the only known example of its kind.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2025

Buckland, I think, once indulged in the jeu d'esprit of supposing an ichthyosaur lecturing on the human skull.

From A journey in other worlds A romance of the future by John Jacob Astor

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023