Shokawa ikoi was a 1.8 m long choristoderan diapsid

Diapsid

Diapsids are a group of reptiles that developed two holes in each side of their skulls, about 300 million years ago during the late Carboniferous period. Living diapsids are extremely diverse, and include all crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and tuatara...

 reptile

Reptile

Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...

 closely resembling and closely related to the smaller choristoderan, Hyphalosaurus

Hyphalosaurus

Hyphalosaurus is a genus of freshwater aquatic reptile, and a major part of the Jehol Biota. It lived during the early Cretaceous period , about 122 million years ago. It contains two species, H. lingyuanensis and H. baitaigouensis, both from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China...

. It lived during the Lower Cretaceous in what is now Japan.

As with Hyphalosaurus, S. ikoi had an extremely long, thin neck with a small head. The mouth was filled with long teeth used to snare small fish.

The generic name refers to the village of Shokawa

Shokawa, Gifu

was a village located in Ōno District, Gifu Prefecture, Japan.On February 1, 2005 Shōkawa, along with the town of Kuguno, and the villages of Asahi, Kiyomi, Miya, Nyūkawa and Takane, all from Ōno District, the town of Kokufu, and the village of Kamitakara, from Yoshiki District, was merged into the...

, located in Gifu Prefecture

Gifu Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the Chūbu region of central Japan. Its capital is the city of Gifu.Located in the center of Japan, it has long played an important part as the crossroads of Japan, connecting the east to the west through such routes as the Nakasendō...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, while the specific name honors the collector of the first specimen, one Mr. Ikoi Shibata.

External links

• The dentary of a Choristodere (Reptilia: Archosauromorpha) from the Okurodani Formation, Tetori Group (Lower Cretaceous) of Japan http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200317/000020031703A0489383.php