Details

LOT 1830

Natural History - British Polished Ichthyosaur Vertebrae Display

JURASSIC PERIOD, CIRCA 180 MILLION YEARS B.P.

6 1/2 in. (236 grams, 16.5 cm).

A polished fossil Ichthyosaur sp. vertebrae section in a jet matrix, partially pyritised; Upper Lias. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From Sandsend, Whitby, North Yorkshire, UK.
Property of a Leicestershire, UK, private collector.

Footnotes

Ichthyosaurs (Greek for "fish lizard" - ichthus meaning "fish" and sauros meaning "lizard") were giant marine reptiles that resembled dolphins, in a textbook example of parallel evolution. They thrived during much of the Mesozoic era; based on fossil evidence, they first appeared approximately 245 million years ago and disappeared about 90 million years ago, about 25 million years before the dinosaurs became extinct.