Ancient marine reptiles at the dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs (IMAGE)

Swedish Museum of Natural History

Ancient marine reptiles at the dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs

Caption

Earliest oceanic tetrapod ecosystem from 249 million years ago. A pod of the small-bodied ichthyopterygian ('fish-lizard') Grippia longirostris hunting squid-like ammonoids (centre). A school of the bony fish Boreosomus and Saurichthys feed in the distance. 

Fossil of these ancient marine reptiles and fishes are today preserved on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. 

Credit

Robert Back

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