England unearths 180 million-year-old sea dragon fossils

huge sea dragon fossil unearthed in England that dates back 180 million years
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It's the largest and most complete specimen of its kind ever found in the United Kingdom.


When this ichthyosaur lived about 180 million years ago, it would have been roughly 33 feet (10 meters) long. 


An English nature reserve had discovered the remnants of a gigantic "sea dragon" that swam in the oceans 180 million years ago when dinosaurs were still living. An enormous and complete fossil of a behemoth has been unearthed in the United Kingdom.


University of Manchester palaeontologist and excavation head Dean Lomax remarked in a statement that this find is "really unprecedented" and among the most significant in British palaeontological history.


Although other ichthyosaurs of this type have been discovered in the United Kingdom, none has been as enormous as the one discovered recently.


In the Triassic period, some 250 million years ago, ichthyosaurs were a vast group of marine reptiles that became extinct 90 million years ago, in the late Cretaceous period. They resembled modern-day dolphins in appearance, with their long snouts.


Temnodontosaurus trigonodon, a giant ichthyosaur species, was represented by the recently discovered fossil – a first for the United Kingdom. According to a press release, Joe Davis, a conservation team leader for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, discovered the ichthyosaur in January 2021 at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve in the East Midlands.


The two were strolling across a dried-up lagoon when Davis noticed what looked like clay pipes poking out of the mud and commented to Trevor that they looked like vertebrae. Davis and Trevor were both working for the trust on the reserve at the time. Whale and dolphin skeletons had previously been uncovered by Davis while working on the Hebrides off the coast of Scotland.


Paul [Trevor] found something further along that we believe could have been a jawbone," Davis explained. "We couldn't believe what we were seeing," said the group.


During August and September of 2021, archaeologists worked to uncover the fossil. An episode of the BBC Two documentary series "Digging for Britain" will showcase the discovery on Tuesday, January 11th.


According to the announcement, the ichthyosaur fossil is still being studied and conserved by archaeologists, though no timescale was given. Scientific articles regarding the discovery are expected to be published in the future.




Reference : https://www.livescience.com/biggest-sea-dragon-in-britain

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/illustrations/naga-dongeng-tale-of-the-dragon-1829827/

A massive sea dragon fossil unearthed in England 180 million years ago

A massive sea dragon fossil dating back 180 million years has been unearthed in England.

England discovers a massive sea dragon fossil from 180 million years ago.

England found a huge sea dragon fossil from 180 million years ago.


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