Smit Original Early Drawing of a Triassic Icthyosaur

SMIT, Joseph (1836-1929).
Triassic Icthyosaur.
Original Illustration in pen, ink and grey wash, heightened in white.
c.1905-1912.
7 1/4" x 10 5/8" sheet.

Original artwork for Henry R. Knipe's Nebula to Man. Illustrated on page 54.

Ichthyosaurs (Greek for "fish lizard" – ichthys meaning "fish" and sauros meaning "lizard") are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1840, although the term is now used more for the parent clade of the Ichthyosauria).