Cymbospondylus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Cymbospondylus Temporal range: Mid Triassic |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Subclass: | Diapsida |
| Superorder: | Ichthyopterygia |
| Order: | Ichthyosauria |
| Genus: | Cymbospondylus |
| Species | |
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C. natans, |
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Cymbospondylus was a large but very primitive Triassic ichthyosaur, with a long eel-like body up to 10 meters or more in length.
Cymbospondylus is known from both Germany and Nevada, and there is no doubt that, like other large marine reptiles and mammals, this animal had a cosmopolitan, pan-oceanic distribution.
Although traditionally included under the Shastasaurid, Cymbospondylus seems to have been more primitive than other members of the family, and probably represents an early but successful offshoot of ichthyosaur evolution.
