▪ Abstract Ichthyosaurs were a group of Mesozoic marine reptiles that evolved fish-shaped
body outlines. They are unique in several anatomical characters, including the possession …

Cruising speeds of Mesozoic marine reptiles have been estimated in the past by using a
mathematical model of energetic equilibrium during steady swimming. This method suffered …

Reptiles have repeatedly invaded marine environments despite their physiological
constraints as air breathers. Marine reptiles were especially successful in the Mesozoic as …

Body shape and mode of swimming were major factors that affected the swimming
capabilities of Mesozoic marine reptiles. By estimating the total drag and the amount of …

Marine tetrapods have evolved different sensory solutions to meet the ecological challenges
of foraging at depth. It has been proposed that pinipeds, like ichthyosaurs, evolved large …

The use of trace fossils as paleoenvironmental indicators is based on empirically-derived
and tested links between environmental conditions, behavior, and trace fossil morphology …

Functional hypotheses for fossil organisms can be rigorously tested through the application
of engineering principles and physical laws (paleobiomechanics). Alternative functional …

Sufficient material has been assembled to restore the powerful pectoral girdle and large fore
limbs of Platypterygius australis (M'Coy). A reasonable approximation to the line of action of …

Relationships between ichnology and uniformitarianism are perhaps less complicated than
those of their sister subdisciplines, paleontology and paleoecology. Trace fossils are …

The periosteal cortex in the shaft of limb bones is described histologically in three
ichthyosaurian genera, Omphalosaurus, Stenopterygius, and Ichthyosaurus. The primary …