Scientists discovered a new species of dinosaur that resembles an ancient marine repitle dolphin however this fossilized specimen appears so strange from its relatives that it seems like the "black sheep" member of the Ichthyosaur family, which can provide crucial insight about the evolution of the species. 

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Ichthyosaurs could be considered as a cross between dolphins and marine reptiles, where they possess sleek bodies and long snouts with beaks including powerful tail fins. However, this particular new specimen had a shorter snout and longer tail like a whip that had missing triangular flukes, according to researchers from the Field Museum in Chicago. 

This newly disocvered dinosaur is known as the Sclerocormus parviceps, which is an ichthyosauriform that lacked the species' distinct cone-shaped teeth, where researchers believe that this creature used its short snout like a syringe to siphon food with a certain amount of pressure by inhaling.  

According to Olivier Rieppel who is the Field Museum's Rowe Family Curator of Evolutionary Biology, the Sclerocormus is telltale clue that ichthyosauriforms have evolved and diversified at a rapid rate towards the end of the Lower Triassic period. Also, there are only a few fossils from this period, making this new fossilized discovery crucial as it suggests that there has been a diversity that has yet to be uncovered.

Some 250 million years ago, the planet was ravaged by volcano eruptions, rising sea levels that ultimately led to climate change and resulted in a mass extinction event that wiped out almost 96 percent of marine animal species. In a few years that followed after this event, aquatic ecology was able to rebound however, the first marine reptiles to emerge from this global disaster evolved slowly.

However, this new fossil might be able to challenge this traditional notion, since the Sclerocormus did not evolved slowly but rather in a very quick manner within short bursts of changes, in leaps and bounds, according to Rieppel. Researchers also say that this rapid evolution does not coincide with Darwin's model of evolution that involves small, gradual changes during a longer, extended period of time, providing new insights about how animals adapted during mass extinction events.

This new study is published in the journal, Scientific Reports. 

TagsIchthyosaurs, marine reptiles dinosaurs, mass extinction event, triassic period, Dinosaurs, reptile fossil, evolution