Lot 10
MARINE REPTILE FOSSIL, ICHTHYOSAUR
MIXOSAURUS SP., LOUPING BIOTA, MIDDLE TRIASSIC, C. 250 - 240 MILLION YEARS B.P.
Auction: 26 November 2026 from 14:00 GMT
Description
a complete and large adult mixosaurus sp. skeleton, contained within a micritic limestone matrix with calcite veining
Dimensions
81 x 50.5cm (inc. frame), total specimen length 96cm
Provenance
Private collection, United Kingdom, acquired 2020, previously in a private collection since 1980
Footnote
This large and fine Mixosaurus inhabited the warm, shallow waters of the ancient Tethys Ocean during the Middle Triassic, 250–240 million years ago. The marine reef environment in which it lived was rich in biodiversity, an agile predator, it possessed a long, slender jaw lined with needle-like teeth, ideally adapted for catching small fish and prehistoric squid. The oxygen depleted conditions on the seabed limited scavenging and disturbance, allowing the skeleton to be preserved with remarkable completeness and detail.