Cetarthrosaurus

Cet-ar-fro-sore-us.
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John Stewart

Paleoecologist

John Stewart is a distinguished paleoecologist whose work has significantly advanced our understanding of prehistoric ecosystems. With over two decades dedicated to unearthing fossils across Asia and Africa

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Name

Cetarthrosaurus.

Phonetic

Cet-ar-fro-sore-us.

Named By

Harry Govier Seeley‭ ‬-‭ ‬1873.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Ichthyosauria,‭ ‬Thunnosauria.

Diet

Piscivore.

Species

C.‭ ‬walkeri‭

Size

Unknown due to lack of remains.

Known locations

England‭ ‬-‭ ‬West Melbury Marly Chalk Formation.

Time Period

Albian/Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Fragmentary post cranial remains.

In Depth

       Cetarthrosaurus is a little known and often considered dubious genus of ichthyosaur that is only known from fragmentary post cranial remains.‭ ‬Still,‭ ‬Cetarthrosaurus is identified as a thunnosaurian ichthyosaur that was hunting in the waters around what would become England around the boundary of the early and late Cretaceous.‭ ‬Fossil remains of ichthyosaurs disappear from the fossil record not long after the end of the Cenomanian when an anoxic event caused a mass extinction of marine life.‭ ‬With this in mind,‭ ‬Cetarthrosaurus would have possibly been among the last ichthyosaurs to live.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬On Cetarthrosaurus walkeri‭ (‬Seeley‭)‬,‭ ‬an Ichthyosaurian from the Cambridge Upper Greensand.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society‭ ‬29:‭ ‬505‭–‬507.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Harry Govier Seeley‭ ‬-‭ ‬1873. -‭ ‬High Diversity in Cretaceous Ichthyosaurs from Europe Prior to Their Extinction.‭ ‬-‭ ‬PLoS ONE‭ ‬9:‭ ‬e84709.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Valentin Fischer,‭ ‬Nathalie Bardet,‭ ‬Myette Guiomar‭ & ‬Pascal Godefroit.‭ ‬-‭ ‬2014.

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