ichthyosaur

Everyday

1. An ichthyosaur was a large sea reptile that lived at the time of the dinosaurs and looked like a dolphin or a fish, with flippers, a long snout and big eyes. tree →
2. It was not a dinosaur but a separate kind of reptile that breathed air and gave birth to live young in the sea. tree →

In the lessons

In science and history lessons, ichthyosaur fossils are famous because Mary Anning, a girl from Lyme Regis in England, found one of the first known skeletons on the beach and became an important fossil hunter. Ichthyosaurs teach about fossils, extinction and how unrelated animals can look alike (they look like dolphins but are reptiles). Phrases: «ichthyosaur fossil», «Mary Anning».

Examples

• Mary Anning found an ichthyosaur fossil on the beach. tree →
• An ichthyosaur looked like a dolphin. tree →
• Ichthyosaurs breathed air, so they swam up to the surface. tree →
• Ichthyosaurs had very large eyes for seeing in deep water. tree →
• An ichthyosaur was a sea reptile, not a fish. tree →
• We saw an ichthyosaur skeleton in the museum. tree →

Note

Countable; use «an». Pronounced IK-thee-uh-sor. The name means «fish lizard». Trap: ichthyosaurs were not dinosaurs; dinosaurs lived on land.