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
LIFE 10 January 2022
By Jason Arunn Murugesu
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.
Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2303820-uks-largest-ichthyosaur-fossil-was-a-10-metre-long-apex-predator/#ixzz7HY296GE8
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