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Description
Mixosaurid ichthyosaur Mixosaurus cornalianus swims in the Triassic shallow sea.

Mixosaurus is one of the most famous Triassic ichthyosaurs. It was described and named by Georg Baur in 1887. Since then, many of its skeletons have been found, including very complete ones, in a vast territory that includes Italy and China. It was a small ichthyosaur, usually reaching 73-100 cm in length. It is distinguished by a mixture of primitive and progressive features: with a high body like that of Jurassic ichthyosaurs, Mixosaurus had a low caudal fin. There were only five fingers in its fins, although the number of phalanges was already increased (the so-called polyphalangia). The front fins are much larger than the rear fins. The skull is relatively large. The name meaning "mixed lizard" reflects the "transitional" nature of the lizard's anatomy. M. cornalianus is the type species of the genus, the other two are M. xindianensis and M. kuhnschnyderi. Many other species were erected, but some of them were isolated into separate genera (one of them even turned out to be a nothosaur!), and some turned out to be doubtful due to insufficient descriptions for separate species.

In 2017, Silvio Renesto and colleagues described soft tissue impressions of a Mixosaurus. They are preserved in two almost complete skeletons collected in the Middle Besano Formation in Northern Italy. One of these specimens has preserved the tissues of the dorsal and caudal fins. Both prints have thin collagen filaments, and at the base of the caudal fin, it was possible to detect the remains of smooth, scaleless skin. The fins have a triangular shape, and the dorsal one is associated with 15-23 trunk vertebrae. In other words, his position turned out to be more forward than in the reconstructions published before this paper. The second specimen preserved a piece of the viscera, possibly representing a part of the intestine. In addition to soft tissues, stomach contents were found in these individuals. The remains of the food of mixosaurs usually consist of the hooks of the tentacles of cephalopods, but in this case the vertebrae of a possible shark (in the first specimen) and the scales of a coelacanth (in the second one) were preserved. They confirm that these ichthyosaurs ate not only cephalopods.

In this work, I decided to try to make water with a black pencil. The transitions from the dark depth to the lighted top turned out to be more difficult to perform than I thought. It turned out in the end not quite the way I wanted, but, in general, the result is quite good.

Black ballpoint and gel ink pens, black colored pencil and white gouache, 2023.

Description
Mixosaurid ichthyosaur Mixosaurus cornalianus swims in the Triassic shallow sea.

Mixosaurus is one of the most famous Triassic ichthyosaurs. It was described and named by Georg Baur in 1887. Since then, many of its skeletons have been found, including very complete ones, in a vast territory that includes Italy and China. It was a small ichthyosaur, usually reaching 73-100 cm in length. It is distinguished by a mixture of primitive and progressive features: with a high body like that of Jurassic ichthyosaurs, Mixosaurus had a low caudal fin. There were only five fingers in its fins, although the number of phalanges was already increased (the so-called polyphalangia). The front fins are much larger than the rear fins. The skull is relatively large. The name meaning "mixed lizard" reflects the "transitional" nature of the lizard's anatomy. M. cornalianus is the type species of the genus, the other two are M. xindianensis and M. kuhnschnyderi. Many other species were erected, but some of them were isolated into separate genera (one of them even turned out to be a nothosaur!), and some turned out to be doubtful due to insufficient descriptions for separate species.

In 2017, Silvio Renesto and colleagues described soft tissue impressions of a Mixosaurus. They are preserved in two almost complete skeletons collected in the Middle Besano Formation in Northern Italy. One of these specimens has preserved the tissues of the dorsal and caudal fins. Both prints have thin collagen filaments, and at the base of the caudal fin, it was possible to detect the remains of smooth, scaleless skin. The fins have a triangular shape, and the dorsal one is associated with 15-23 trunk vertebrae. In other words, his position turned out to be more forward than in the reconstructions published before this paper. The second specimen preserved a piece of the viscera, possibly representing a part of the intestine. In addition to soft tissues, stomach contents were found in these individuals. The remains of the food of mixosaurs usually consist of the hooks of the tentacles of cephalopods, but in this case the vertebrae of a possible shark (in the first specimen) and the scales of a coelacanth (in the second one) were preserved. They confirm that these ichthyosaurs ate not only cephalopods.

In this work, I decided to try to make water with a black pencil. The transitions from the dark depth to the lighted top turned out to be more difficult to perform than I thought. It turned out in the end not quite the way I wanted, but, in general, the result is quite good.

Black ballpoint and gel ink pens, black colored pencil and white gouache, 2023.