Xiphodracon goldencapensis was an ichthyosaur that lived in marine waters covering what is now the Jurassic Coast of the southern United Kingdom during the Early Jurassic, about 188 million years ago.
Around 3m long (~10'), it had fairly large eyes and a long narrow snout lined with small slender pointed teeth.
It was part of the leptonectid family, closely related to other long-snouted forms like Eurhinosaurus. Although currently only represented by a single fossil specimen, it's actually the most complete ichthyosaur known from the Pliensbachian age of the Early Jurassic.
Preserved gut contents show that it primarily fed on fish, and also that its stomach was positioned on the left side of its body. The fossilized individual also suffered from multiple injuries during its life, including malformed teeth, a fractured clavicle, and avascular necrosis in its upper limb bones. It appears to have died after a bite to the skull from a predator – likely the larger ichthyosaur Temnodontosaurus – and additional bite marks on one hindlimb may be evidence of scavenger activity.
———
NixIllustration.com | Tumblr | Patreon
