page_title: Timeline of ichthyosaur research
section_title: 1830s
hierarchical_section_title: Timeline of ichthyosaur research / 19th century / 1830s
caption_attribution_description: English: Duria Antiquior famous watercolor by the geologist Henry de la Beche depicting life in ancient Dorset based on fossils found by Mary Anning. Español: Duria Antiquior es una famosa acuarela pintada en 1830 por el geólogo inglés Henry De la Beche. Fue la primera representación pictórica de una escena de vida prehistórica basada en evidencias fósiles encontradas por Mary Anning.
context_page_description: This timeline of ichthyosaur research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ichthyosauromorphs, a group of secondarily aquatic marine reptiles whose later members superficially resembled dolphins, sharks, or swordfish. Scientists have documented ichthyosaur fossils at least as far back as the late 17th century. At that time, a scholar named Edward Lhwyd published a book on British fossils that misattributed some ichthyosaur vertebrae to actual fishes; their true nature was not recognized until the 19th century. In 1811, a boy named Joseph Anning discovered the first ichthyosaur fossils that would come to be scientifically recognized as such. His sister Mary would later find the rest of its skeleton and would go on to become a respected fossil collector and paleontologist in her own right.
  Early researchers recognized ichthyosaurs as marine reptiles, but major aspects of their anatomy and behavior needed to be resolved. They were frequently portrayed as leaving the water to bask on rocks and with straight tails.
context_section_description: 1834
  Thomas W. Hawkins published a book titled Memoirs of Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri. He sold it in subscription format for L2.10, an exorbitantly high price for the period. The book included illustrations by landscape painter John Samuelson Templeton, although many of these inaccurately portray ichthyosaurs with straight tails and leaving the water to bask on rocks.
  1839
  Henry de la Beche illustrated a work titled "Duria Antiquior", meaning "Ancient Dorset" for fossil hunter Mary Anning. This work, which prominently features plesiosaurs, has been regarded as the first attempt to accurately reconstruct the Mesozoic world through an artistic medium.
caption: Duria Antiquior, by Henry de la Beche, 1830
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