Skeletal microstructure of Stenopterygius quadriscissus (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria) from the Posidonienschiefer (Posidonia Shale, Lower Jurassic) of Germany

Ichthyosaurians (Ichthyosauria) are a major clade of secondarily aquatic marine tetrapods that occupied several major predatory niches during the Mesozoic Era. Multiple lines of evidence including isotopic, body shape and swimming modality analyses suggest they exhibited elevated growth and metabolic rates, and body temperatures. However, applications of osteohistological methods to test hypotheses regarding their physiology are few. Previous...