A 10-meter-long ichthyosaur, around 180 million years old, has been discovered in the Midlands. It is the largest fossil of its kind ever discovered in UK.
The gigantic Prehistoric “sea dragon” which has just been unearthed in the Midlands, in central England, is described as “One of the greatest discoveries in the history of British paleontology”, relate The Guardian.
“The ichthyosaur, around 180 million years old, with a skeleton measuring around 10 meters in length and a skull weighing nearly a ton, is the largest and most complete fossil of its species ever discovered in Canada. UK”, notes the British daily.
It was found by chance during the routine draining of a lagoon in the Rutland Water man-made reservoir in February 2021. But then it took several months to dig it up and identify it.
The first ichthyosaurs, “Known as ‘sea dragons’ because they have very large teeth and very large eyes, were discovered by fossil hunter and paleontologist Mary Anning in the early 1900s. XIXe century”, recalls the everyday. These marine reptiles appeared around 250 million years ago and died out 90 million years ago. Their size ranged from 1 to over 25 meters, and they resembled dolphins in their overall body shape.
First complete skeleton
Two incomplete and much smaller ichthyosaurs were previously discovered during the construction of the Rutland Water Reservoir in the 1970s, but this is the first complete skeleton to be identified for this species.
For Mark Evans, paleontologist of the British Antarctic Survey, who has been studying the fossil reptiles of the Jurassic of Rutland and Leicestershire for more than twenty years, “From the first glimpse of the partially exposed fossil, it was clear that this was the largest ichthyosaur found in the region.” He comments:
However, it wasn’t until following our exploratory dig that we realized it was pretty much full to the end of the tail. This is a very important discovery nationally and internationally, but also for the people of Rutland and the surrounding area. ”
Source
Independence and quality characterize this title, born in 1821, which counts among its ranks some of the country’s most respected columnists. The Guardian is the leading journal for the intelligentsia, teachers and
[…]
Read more
