Cymbospondylus

Cymbospondylus Temporal range: Middle – Upper Triassic
Cymbospondylus fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Subclass:	Diapsida
Superorder:	Ichthyopterygia
Order:	Ichthyosauria
Family:	Cymbospondylidae

Cymbospondylus (meaning "boat vertebrae") was a large, primitive Triassic ichthyosaur of the Middle and Upper Triassic. It had a long eel-like body up to 10 meters or more in length.^[1]

Cymbospondylus is known from both Germany and Nevada. No doubt, like other large marine reptiles and present-day aquatic mammals, it had a wide oceanic distribution.

1. ↑ Motani R. 1999: Phylogeny of the Ichthyopterygia. Journal Of Vertebrate Paleontology. 19 (3): 473 - 496