A powerful dolphin-like swimmer whose sharp teeth ruled the Triassic seas.
Type: Marine reptile
Size: 10m long
Diet: Carnivore
Predators: Few, if any, predators once fully grown
Lived: Late Triassic, 240-210 million years ago.
Cymbospondylus was an early member of the Icthyosaur group, which looked slightly like modern dolphins. Cymbospondylus had no dorsal fin and its tail was long like an eel's.
Its long tail made it a powerful swimmer, it patrolled in deep offshore waters looking for prey.
Cymbospondylus had a skull 1m long with short, sharp teeth good for grabbing quite large reptiles but it favoured fish and cephalopods such as ammonites.
Cymbospondylus appears to have given birth to live young as it had no way to lay eggs.
译文:
与海怪同行：距今2亿年的古海霸主--杯椎鱼龙
一个和海豚一样的游泳健将，靠尖牙利齿统治三叠纪海洋
门类：海生爬行动物
尺寸：10米长
食性：肉食
天敌：很少，如果有的话，就是大型的同类
时代：三叠纪末期，距今2亿4000万至2亿1000万年
杯椎鱼龙是鱼龙类的早期成员，它们的细长外形和今天的海豚很相似。杯椎鱼龙没有背鳍，尾部像鳗鱼一样扁长。
这种长尾巴使它们成为强有力的游泳好手，它们常常在深水区游弋，等待送上门的猎物。
杯椎鱼龙的头长一米，长有短小、锋利的牙齿，能让它撕碎大型的爬行动物，但是它最喜欢的还是鱼类和头足类动物，例如菊石。
鉴于杯椎鱼龙无法上岸，它们应该是直接生育幼崽的卵胎生动物。