Who has a beak like this?

Did you know what last week’s object of the week was?

Ichthyosaur head

The name Ichthyosaur translates literally as ‘fish lizard’. They were marine reptiles alive during the time of the dinosaurs, that on the outside appeared very much like a dolphin. The same streamlined shape that made the Ichthyosaurs so successful arose again in Dolphins and is an excellent example of convergent evolution.

The first complete Ichthyosaur fossil was found by 12 year old Mary Anning of Lyme Regis. She famously spent her life hunting for fossils on the coast of Dorset; she came from a poor family and the money they earned from selling fossils made up most of their income.