Ichthyosaurs from the Early Jurassic of Britain

Description:

Ichthyosaurs are iconic, extinct, marine reptiles that date from the Mesozoic Era when dinosaurs dominated the land. They formed a key part of marine ecosystems as secondary consumers and in some cases apex predators. Occasionally the preservation of fully-articulated skeletons including exceptionally their soft-parts, allows the reconstruction of many details of ichthyosaur palaeobiology. The Early Jurassic of Britain provides arguably the best-known ~30-million-year portion of their 156-million-year history.

The first part of this book introduces the anatomy of ichthyosaurs, how they were fossilised, how the fossils are curated plus their global distribution in space and time. The second part provides a comprehensive, up-to-date review of all aspects of their palaeobiology including inferences about their genetics. The final part summarizes the characteristics of the twenty-one Early Jurassic species currently recognised in Britain including figures showing their spatial distribution and stratigraphic ranges. Appendices list the key specimens of British Early Jurassic ichthyosaurs. The book is illustrated with 243 colour photographs of ichthyosaur specimens with about forty percent from the Natural History Museum, London.