Chaohusaurus
Encyclopedia
Geisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
of Chaohu') was an ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaur
Ichthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...
, an extinct marine reptile, from the Early Triassic
Early Triassic
The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251 ± 0.4 Ma and 245 ± 1.5 Ma . Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy...
of Chaohu, China. It has also been called Anhuisaurus and Chensaurus. It was described by Young and Dong in 1972. It was closer in form to Cymbospondylus
Cymbospondylus
Cymbospondylus was a basal early ichthyosaur that lived between the middle and later years of the Triassic period...
and Mixosaurus
Mixosaurus
Mixosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur. Fossils of Mixosaurus have been found all over the world - China, Timor, Indonesia, Italy, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Canada, Alaska, and Nevada. It was named in 1887 by George H. Baur...
than more advanced genera like Ichthyosaurus
Ichthyosaurus
Ichthyosaurus is an extinct genus of ichthyosaur from the Early Jurassic of Europe . It is among the best known ichthyosaur genera, with the Order Ichthyosauria being named after it...
: it did not have the dolphin-like form of later ichthyosaurs; it had a more lizard-like appearance. It did have flippers, rather than webbed feet, but the neck is atypically long and there is no dorsal fin. The tail fin is wide-based and short. It is one of the smallest ichthyosaurs, being from 70 to 180 cm long. Its weight is estimated at 10 kg.