Acamptonectes densus - Cretaceous ichthyosaur

Galvasean

The discovery is particularly exciting because this order of animal, known as Ichthyosauria, was thought to have been largely extinct by the time of the Cretaceous, the scientists said.

“It’s a spectacular find,” said museum director Ulrich Joger. “With this, an entire extinction theory will be questioned.”

A portion of the almost perfectly preserved skeleton was found by a private collector scouring a motorway construction site near Cremlingen, Lower Saxony, in 2005.

http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20120104-39911.html

Adam Khor

Galvasean wrote: »

http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20120104-39911.html

So friggin cute

It seems that plenty of ichthyosaurs (including some traditionally considered to be Jurassic, like Ophtalmosaurus) did make it into the Cretaceous. So that ichthyosaurs went practically extinct at the begining of the Cretaceous is a myth, comparable to the old one that said the same about sauropods.

Galvasean

There's even a late Cretaceous pliosaur that lived in the American inland sea (because frankly, there just weren't enough things in there that could eat you!).
It just shows how palaeontology can be too quick to make assumptions. Sometimes lack of evidence truly does not mean evidence of absence.

Rubecula

Galvasean wrote: »

There's even a late Cretaceous pliosaur that lived in the American inland sea (because frankly, there just weren't enough things in there that could eat you!).
It just shows how palaeontology can be too quick to make assumptions. Sometimes lack of evidence truly does not mean evidence of absence.

This says it all.