Sclerocormus

An illustration of an extinct marine reptile. It has a short pointed snout, four flippers, and a long flexible tail.

Sclerocormus parviceps, an unusual ichthyosauriform from the Early Triassic of China (~248 mya).

Its short toothless snout suggests it was a suction feeder, using water pressure differences to pull small soft-bodied prey straight into its mouth like a syringe.  Along with a heavily built body similar to those of hupehsuchians, and a very long tail that made up over half of its 1.6m length (5′3″), it was probably a fairly slow swimmer living in shallow coastal waters.

It was a close relative of Cartorhynchus, and may have been similarly capable of hauling itself onto land like a modern pinniped.

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