The new ichthyosaur fossil has marked differences from the ichthyosaurs science has already cataloged, the latter having adapted completely to living at sea.
A giant dinosaur found in Tanzania once lived during a lush, green period when flowering plants flourished, about 100 million years ago, paleontologists report. The new dino species is a rare find in sub-Saharan Africa, where far fewer dinosaur fossils are discovered than in South America, the researchers said.
Paleontologists discovered the massive fossil in 2007 during fieldwork in the Rukwa Rift Basin in southwestern Tanzania.
The new find had uncommonly large flippers that were flexible enough to allow the creature to move as though it were at sea while on land. Its wrists, meanwhile, were also flexible enough to enable crawling on land.
The amphibious ichthyosaur also had a short nose that was consistent with that of land reptiles and in contrast with the long, beak-like snouts of sea-dwellking ichthyosaurs.
The fossil also points to a creature with the thick-set bones usually associated with marine reptiles that were transitioning from land lubbing to sea life. Its bigger bones indicate the creature was growing heavier, the better to be able to plow through rough coastal waters before heading out to sea.
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