Dino card No. 1436 of 2,015

Platypterygius

Say it: PLAT-ee-pter-IH-jee-us

Name means: “flat fin”1

Ate: MeatIchthyosaursLate Jurassic to Late CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Platypterygius was a giant marine reptile that swam in the seas during the time of the dinosaurs. It looked a bit like a dolphin but had a long snout full of sharp teeth. It was a fast hunter that ate fish, sea turtles, and even baby birds.1

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

162 to 94 million years ago2

Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Australia, France, United States, Chile, Russia, Germany, and many other countries2

Food

Meat1

Length

4 to 7 m1

scientists estimate

Artist's life restoration of Platypterygius — How Platypterygius may have looked, by Bogdanov dmitrchel@mail.ru. CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Platypterygius means 'flat fin' because its flippers were wide and flat, like paddles.1

It lived from about 161 to 94 million years ago, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.2

Fossils of Platypterygius have been found on every continent except Antarctica.2

Some Platypterygius fossils have baby sea turtles and bird bones in their stomachs, showing what it ate.1

Scientists think Platypterygius was a fast swimmer that chased prey in the open ocean.2

The name Platypterygius has been used for many different ichthyosaurs, and some scientists think it might include several different species.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Platypterygius
Named by: von Huene 19222
Group: Ichthyosaurs
Family / clade: Ophthalmosauridae2
Classification: Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha2
Age of the rocks: 162 to 94 million years (Oxfordian to Cenomanian)2
Rock formations: Toolebuc, Zapata, Marnes bleues2
Countries: Australia, France, USA, Chile, Russia, Germany2
Fossil records: 62 in the Paleobiology Database2
Also known as: Longirostria, Myobradypterygius, Myopterygius, Plutoniosaurus, Tenuirostria (older names now counted as the same animal)2
Discovery: Platypterygius was named by German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1922. The first fossils were found in Germany.2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure which species really belong to Platypterygius, because many different ichthyosaurs have been lumped into this group.1

Where the facts come from

Platypterygius (en.wikipedia.org)
Platypterygius in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@dinowiki.app and we will fix it.