Postcards of Ichthyosaurs

A team member at Everything Dinosaur found some beautiful postcards that feature spectacular British fossils, in this case ichthyosaurs, in one of our offices the other day.  We thought we would share a picture of the prehistoric themed postcards on our blog.

A Pair of Prehistoric Postcards Featuring Different Species of Ichthyosaur

Postcards showing Ichthyosaurs.
Postcards that illustrate spectacular British fossils – Ichthyosaurus.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

The postcards come from a range of “natural selection prints”, illustrations of spectacular fossils from the UK.  They depict scientific illustrations that we think accompanied the description of the species when it was erected.

Ichthyosaurus moorei (Leptonectes moorei)

The postcard (top) shows a plate from the scientific paper that led to the erection of the species Ichthyosaurus moorei.  The holotype material associated with this animal comes from Seatown on the Dorset coast (Jurassic Coast).  However, as our knowledge of the Ichthyosauria as improved, so fossils associated with I. moorei have been reassigned and placed outside the Ichthyosaurus genus.  There are enough distinctive characteristics (autapomorphies), to permit an erection of a separate genus.  The genus Leptonectes moorei was established in 1999.

Ichthyosaurus breviceps

I. breviceps is another species of marine reptile, despite being named a long time ago, in 1881 by Richard Owen (later Sir Richard Owen), it has remained a member of the Ichthyosaurus genus.  This type of Ichthyosaurus is also associated with the Jurassic Coast of Dorset.  Its fossils are relatively rare when compared to the contemporaneous I. communis.  It is characterised by its relatively short, but robust snout.  The shape of the jaw suggests that this marine reptile may have fed on different kinds of food compared to other “fish lizards”, it may have been more of a generalist eating a wider variety of prey, an example of niche partitioning within the biota associated with the Lower Jurassic.

An Illustration of a Typical Ichthyosaur – W. massarae

Wahlisaurus massarae illustrated
An illustration of the ichthyosaur known as Wahlisaurus massarae, which was named and described back in 2016.  Research into the Ichthyosauria is on-going and existing specimens can be reassigned to different species or even different genera as more data becomes available.

Picture credit: James McKay

To view models of prehistoric animals including marine reptiles: Wild Safari Prehistoric World Models.