AN ENGLISH ICHTHYOSAUR

The first complete Ichthyosaur skeleton was found at Lyme Regis in 1811 by Mary Anning (of "she sells sea-shells on the seashore" fame) . The order Ichthyosauria was introduced in 1840 by Sir Richard Owen, and today about 80 species are recognised. They take their name from the Greek for "fish lizards" and are an excellent example of convergent evolution. It is thought that they evolved from land based lizards moving into the sea, eventually converging on the shape of the fish upon which they preyed.