Many different species of Ichthyosaur are now known. ... This means that Ichthyosaurs did not lay eggs like most other reptiles, but instead gave birth to live young – what scientists refer to as viviparous behaviour. The ancestors of the Ichthyosaurs probably ventured out onto land to lay eggs, just like turtles do today.

Did ichthyosaurs lay eggs on land?

It's not just the age of the Mesozoic-era discovery that is surprising; it's the shattering of the belief that ichthyosaurs—also dubbed sea monsters—gave birth in water, not on land. ... The babies of most marine animals, such as whales and sea cows, are born tail-first.

How did ichthyosaurs reproduce?

Ichthyosaurs were viviparous; they gave birth in the water to live young (instead of laying eggs, as other reptiles do). This is known because the fossilized bones of baby Ichthysaurs have been found inside the bones of adults.

Did the plesiosaurs lay eggs?

Scientists say they have found the first evidence that giant sea reptiles - which lived at the same time as dinosaurs - gave birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

Do ichthyosaurs give birth?

From earlier fossil finds, scientists already knew that these Triassic-era predators gave live birth, but what they didn't know was whether the earliest ichthyosaurs, who evolved from land-dwelling cousins, gave birth headfirst, like land mammals, or tail-first, like modern whales and dolphins do, an evolutionary ...

When Ichthyosaurs Led a Revolution in the Seas

25 related questions found

Can ichthyosaurs breathe underwater?

"Meanwhile, ichthyosaurs did not have a blocking mechanism for their nostrils. Therefore, after breathing in on the surface and submerging, the water would flow into the nostrils. Slightly open snout was its only exit. These animals breathed out the same way.

What is the only marine reptile known to give live birth?

Living Marine Reptiles

The true sea snakes are the only lineage that almost never leaves the water—they even give live birth in water (Rasmussen 2001).

Did all Dinos lay eggs?

As far as we know, all dinosaurs reproduced by laying eggs, as do most other sauropsids (reptiles). It is very difficult to determine what species of dinosaur laid the eggs that have been discovered, because only a few dinosaur embryos have been found inside the fossil eggs.

Do all reptiles lay eggs?

All reptiles, including aquatic ones, lay their eggs on land. Reptiles reproduce sexually through internal fertilization; some species are ovoviviparous (lay eggs) and others are viviparous (live birth).

Did plesiosaur walk land?

The fossil's abdominal cavity contains tiny bones—parts of a plesiosaur that hadn't been born by the time its mother died. ... "Scientists have long known that the bodies of plesiosaurs were not well suited to climbing onto land and laying eggs in a nest [like dinosaurs].

Did pterosaurs have teeth?

Despite their formidable size, the pterosaurs in the Azhdarchidae family had no teeth. ... Fossil records show that pterosaurs were likely the first airborne vertebrates and they took to the skies around 220 million years ago.

Why did ichthyosaurs go extinct?

Ichthyosaurs – shark-like marine reptiles from the time of dinosaurs – were driven to extinction by intense climate change and their own failure to evolve quickly enough, according to new research by an international team of scientists.

Did Dolphins evolve from ichthyosaurs?

During the Early Triassic epoch, ichthyosaurs evolved from a group of unidentified land reptiles that returned to the sea, in a development similar to how the mammalian land-dwelling ancestors of modern-day dolphins and whales returned to the sea millions of years later, which they gradually came to resemble in a case ...

How were ichthyosaurs different from plesiosaurs?

Ichthyosaurs had large eyes for seeing in deep water, vertical tail fins (like tuna fish), and some species had a dorsal fin. Little is known about their ancestors – terrestrial reptiles that returned to the sea – or why they went extinct, only that plesiosaurs replaced them as the sea's top predators.

Has there ever been anything bigger than a blue whale?

The spiral Siphonophore spotted by the team of scientists aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's Falkor research vessel has been estimated to be 150-feet-long, which is an approximate 50 feet longer than a blue whale - widely held to be the largest animal to have ever existed.

Why do plesiosaurs have long necks?

"A steady neck would be more hydrodynamic than a bent neck, and due to the pressure on a bent neck, plesiosaurs would probably only bend them when moving at slow speeds or when floating,' says Ms Troelsen. ... Several possible theories suggest that plesiosaurs may have developed long necks to extend their feeding range.

Where are lizard eggs?

Lizards lay their eggs anywhere dark and moist, such as under woodpiles, sheds, and decks. Nesting sites can also be found beneath shrubs and in areas of tall grass. Younger, smaller females produce fewer eggs than older, larger ones, and experienced lizards can instinctually scope out safer nesting sites.

Are snakes lay eggs?

Answer: No! While snakes are known for laying eggs, not all of them do so! Some do not externally lay eggs, but instead produce young by eggs that are hatched internally (or inside) the body of the parent. Animals that are able to give this version of live birth are known as ovoviviparous.

What animals dont lay eggs?

Birds, insects, reptiles and fishes are oviparous animals. Animals which reproduce by giving birth to their young ones are called viviparous animals. These animals do not lay eggs. Mammals like cat, dog and man are viviparous animals.

How much is a dinosaur egg worth?

Besides that, the determination of the fossil's value depends upon its condition, rarity, and age as well. Although the common value exists of a dinosaur egg is about $400 to $1500.

Can dinosaurs come back?

The answer is YES. In fact they will return to the face of the earth in 2050. We found a pregnant T. rex fossil and had DNA in it this is rare and this helps scientists take a step closer of animal cloning a Tyrannosaurus rex and other dinosaurs.

What was the largest dinosaur egg?

Dinosaur eggs vary in size, depending on the species. Among the largest are fossilized dinosaur eggs collected in the mid 1990s from Late Cretaceous rocks in China. These eggs are more than 60 cm (2 ft.) long and about 20 cm (8 in.)

Which reptile does not lay egg?

Research on a sea creature's fossil has changed the understanding of how reproduction evolved. An unusually long-necked marine reptile gave birth to live young 245 million years ago — the only known member of the dinosaur, bird and crocodile family to not lay eggs, researchers have found.

Are marine reptiles extinct?

After the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, marine reptiles were less numerous, but there was still a high variety of species in the early Cenozoic, such as "true" sea turtles, bothremydids, palaeophiid snakes, a few choristoderes such as Simoedosaurus and dyrosaurid crocodylomorphs.

Do any mammals lay eggs?

As for us mammals, only two types lay eggs: the duck-billed platypus and the echidna.