Ichthyosaur

Ichthyosaur
Scientific name
Stenopterygius quadriscissus
Type		Multi-part
Period(s)		Early Jurassic
Length		6.6 feet (2 meters)
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Name in other languages  イクチオサウルスの  N/A  ichtyosaure  ictiosaurio  ittiosauro  N/A  이크티오사우루스의  N/A  ichtyosaure  ictiosaurio  Ichthyo  N/A

The Ichthyosaur is a two-part fossil in the Animal Crossing series. It was introduced in Animal Crossing: City Folk and returned in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. It is superseded by Ophthalmosaurus in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

At the museum

In City Folk

When donating to Blathers in City Folk, he will provide the following information about the Ichthyosaur:

"The Ichthyosaur appeared during the first days of the dinosaurs. It didn't live on land like other dinosaurs, but rather in the sea...even though it was a reptile, wot! It's particular charm lies in its dolphinlike frame, not to mention its large eyes. Indeed, those large eyes granted such fine eyesight, it could see easily in the dark! Like an owl, hoo!"

In New Leaf

After donating the final part of the fossil in New Leaf, its plaque in the museum will read:

"Though they bear a striking visual similarity to dolphins, ichthyosaurs were reptiles rather than mammals. Interestingly, adult specimens have been found with juvenile bones inside their abdominal cavities. This suggests that rather than laying eggs, ichthyosaurs gave birth to live young in the water."

As an item

In City Folk

#52

Icthyo skull
Sell price	2,500 Bells
Colors	Brown   Brown
HRA genre	Retro
Size

#53

Icthyo torso
Sell price	2,000 Bells
Colors	Brown   Brown
HRA genre	Retro
Size

In New Leaf

Ichthyo skull
Sell price	2,500 Bells
Colors	Brown   Brown
Style	Historical
HHA theme challenge	Quirky
Size

Ichthyo torso
Sell price	2,000 Bells
Colors	Brown   Brown
Style	Historical
HHA theme challenge	Quirky
Size

Real-world information

Ichthyosaurs are among the earliest marine reptiles. They evolved 250 million years ago, shortly after the Permian-Triassic extinction event and at least 15 million years before dinosaurs. Their evolutionary relationship to modern reptiles is contentious; most studies suggest they are more closely related to snakes and lizards than to crocodiles and birds, but some suggest the opposite. The ichthyosaurs diversified quickly throughout the Triassic and remained diverse through the Early to Middle Jurassic. They eventually went extinct 90 million years ago.

Ichthyosaurus was also the first known prehistoric marine reptile. Its discovery in 1811/1812 by siblings Joseph and Mary Anning gave credence to the then-controversial idea of extinctions. While it was proposed in 1798 by Georges Cuvier, extinction was viewed as conflicting with contemporary religious views, as it seemed to imply that God's creations could be imperfect, and many believed that any oddities in the fossil record could be explained by living, albeit undiscovered, animals. The discovery of Ichthyosaurus, along with Mary Anning's later discoveries (like plesiosaurs) and the discovery of dinosaurs in the 1820s, dealt the first major blow to this view and gave rise to the field of modern paleontology.

More information on this topic is available at Wikipedia.