Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World Page #3

Many Ichthyosaur fossils

have been found at Holzmaden

with their bones intact

and even with the imprint

of their skin on the rock,

which helped us to know

the position of their fins.

Some Ichthyosaur fossils

are so well preserved

that we can actually see foetuses

inside the mother's bodies,

and some even being born.

Unable to get out of the water

to lay their eggs like other reptiles,

Ichthyosaurs gave birth in the water.

The babies came out tail first,

like dolphins today.

Another one of the lchthyosaur's

characteristics are its huge eyes,

protected by doughnut-shaped bones

able to withstand

extreme water pressure.

A Jurassic lchthyosaur,

the Ophthalmosaurus,

stands out in the animal kingdom

as having the largest eyes

in proportion to its body.

With these enormous eyes,

it could make out its prey

in the darkness of great depths.

Strangely enough,

the Ichthyosaurs became extinct

in the middle of the Cretaceous,

despite their amazing adaptation

to sea life.

(JULIE) But how can we know so much

about species that became extinct

90 million years ago?

Perhaps because of the large number

and the quality of fossils left.

And, of course, thanks to

those who discovered them.

Here we are in London, in

one of the most beautiful galleries

devoted to Mesozoic marine reptiles.

Nathalie Bardet is currently

the French expert on these animals.

A long time before dinosaurs

were discovered,

the remains of marine reptiles

had been known to fossil collectors.

Mary Anning.

In the early 1 9th century,

she was a child

when she started to collect fossils

around her home

along the Dorset coast

in southern England.

During her lifetime,

with an amazingly sharp eye,

she found some of the most famous

fossils, Ichthyosaur and Plesiosaur,

exhibited here at the Natural History

Museum of London.

One of the most complete

Plesiosaur skeletons ever found

was Rhomaleosaurus.

This Early Jurassic predator

was a powerful swimmer.

(HlSSING)

During the Jurassic period,

a new group of marine reptiles

takes over, the Plesiosaurs.

At the beginning of

the Early Jurassic,

Pangea has started to break up

and drift apart into different pieces.

It is still hot, but the climate

is becoming much more humid.

Such conditions are perfectly suited

to the development of life

all over the world.

Now this sure seems more pleasant

than the Triassic did.

The Jurassic is considered

the golden age of dinosaurs, isn't it?

In fact, it's the golden age

of life in general,

and even much more so

for the reptiles,

be they earth,

flying or marine reptiles.

With their four strong paddles,

Plesiosaurs soon become

the new kings of the seas.

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