Large Ichthyosaur sp. vertebra on a piece of martix!

Species: Ichthyosaur sp.

Age: 184 million years old; Jurassic period

Location: Dotternhausen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; Posidonia shale formation

The Ichthyosaurs are an order of large, fully aquatic reptiles that evolved in the early triassic around 250 million years ago and survived up until the early cretatious 90 million years ago. The Ichthyosaurs were the first outstandingly large marine megafauna reaching sizes of up to 17 meters within 5 million years of their first appearance in the fossil record! They reached their peak sizes during the end of the triassic where large macropredatory Ichthyosaurs evolved, which some estimates put at around the same size as blue whales! The specimen that is being sold here is a vertebra from a 4-10 meter long Ichthyosaur. It cannot be clearly identified as a single species but due to the locality it is fair to assume it stems from a Temnodontosaurus or a Stenopterygius! The vertebra has a width of around 7cm! This beautiful piece of natural history could now be yours! It also fits perfectly in the XL acrylic stands!