page_title: Stenopterygius
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Stenopterygius / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: A comparison of the body sizes between an en:Stenopterygius and an adult male human.
context_page_description: Stenopterygius is an extinct genus of thunnosaur ichthyosaur known from Europe. This genus of ichthyosaur grew to a maximum length of 4 meters.
context_section_description: Stenopterygius was physically similar to the better known Ichthyosaurus, but had a smaller skull and narrower flippers. Beautifully preserved fossils of Stenopterygius have been found in Germany. Its skull was extended into a kind of a beak and was armed with a quantity of large teeth. The limbs had been transformed to fin-like structures. The tail terminated in a large, semicircular, leathery, vertical caudal fin and even a triangular dorsal fin was present. One well-preserved fossil of Stenopterygius preserves traces of skin, from which the animal's coloration was discovered to be countershaded (darker on the back than the underbelly).
caption: Stenopterygius with a human to scale
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