Two ichthyosaurs (Pervushovisaurus bannovkensis) wandering in an artist’s impression. (Image credit: Andrey Atuchin)
The Ichthyosaur, a dolphin-like reptile, ruled the oceans at the time of the dinosaurs, but then disappeared from the fossil record. Now new research seems to have figured out why. Their demise appears to be the result of climate change and a slow rate of evolution.
Ichthyosaurs became extinct 90 million years ago, 28 million years before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.
Original research paper published by Nature Communications on March 8, 2015.
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