UK’s largest ichthyosaur fossil was a 10-metre-long apex predator - Science Club

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Friday, January 14, 2022

UK’s largest ichthyosaur fossil was a 10-metre-long apex predator

 The largest ichthyosaur fossil ever found in the UK has been unearthed in the Rutland Water Nature Reserve

The ichthyosaur skeleton found at Rutland Water Nature Reserve

MATTHEW POWER PHOTOGRAPHY

Gigantic dolphin-like marine reptiles once swam the seas. Now, a near complete fossilised skeleton of a 180-million-year-old ichthyosaur that measured 10 metres in length has been discovered in the UK.

The fossil is the largest and most complete ichthyosaur skeleton unearthed in the UK. It was found in the Rutland Water Nature Reserve near Leicester.

Joe Davis at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust says he discovered the fossil by chance as he was working on landscaping the region. “I know lots of people have spent their lives looking for something like this and I’ve been very lucky to come across it,” he says.

It is believed to be the first of its species, Temnodontosaurus trigonodon, to be found in the UK. Such fossils are typically found in North America and Germany.


 The largest ichthyosaur fossil ever found in the UK has been unearthed in the Rutland Water Nature Reserve

The ichthyosaur skeleton found at Rutland Water Nature Reserve

MATTHEW POWER PHOTOGRAPHY

Gigantic dolphin-like marine reptiles once swam the seas. Now, a near complete fossilised skeleton of a 180-million-year-old ichthyosaur that measured 10 metres in length has been discovered in the UK.

The fossil is the largest and most complete ichthyosaur skeleton unearthed in the UK. It was found in the Rutland Water Nature Reserve near Leicester.

Joe Davis at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust says he discovered the fossil by chance as he was working on landscaping the region. “I know lots of people have spent their lives looking for something like this and I’ve been very lucky to come across it,” he says.

It is believed to be the first of its species, Temnodontosaurus trigonodon, to be found in the UK. Such fossils are typically found in North America and Germany.


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