Chaohusaurus

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Chaohusaurus
Fossil range: Early Triassic
Chaohusaurus geishanensis
Chaohusaurus geishanensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Ichthyosauria
Family: Grippidae
Genus: Chaohusaurus
Young & Dong, 1972
Species
  • C. geishanensis

Chaohusaurus geishanensis ('geisha lizard of Chaohu') was an ichthyosaur, an extinct fish-like marine reptile, from the Early Triassic of Chaohu, China. It has also been called Anhuisaurus and Chensaurus. It was described by Young and Dong in 1972. It was closer in form to Cymbospondylus and Mixosaurus

Chaohusaurus with a human to scale.
Chaohusaurus with a human to scale.

than more advanced genera like Ichthyosaurus: it did not have the dolphin-like form of later ichthyosaurs; it had a more lizard-like appearance. It did have flippers, rather than webbed feet, but the neck is untypically long and there is no dorsal fin. The tail fin is wide-based and short. It is one of the smallest ichthyosaurs, being from 70 to 180 cm long. Its weight is estimated at 10 kg.

[edit] References

Dinosaur-World.com [1]