Ichthyosaur Rutland: 10-meter skeleton of ‘sea dragon’ one of UK’s ‘greatest’ dinosaur age finds, experts say | UK news

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Experts have described the skeleton of a dinosaur-age reptile found in the Midlands as “one of the greatest discoveries in the history of British paleontology”.

Scientists at Rutland Water Nature Reserve have discovered that the ichthyosaur fossil – sometimes called sea dragons – is about 180 million years old.

At around 10 meters (33 feet) long and with a skull weighing nearly one ton, it is the largest and most complete fossil of its kind ever found in the UK.

Image: “Sea dragons” were dolphin-shaped reptiles that ranged in size from 1 to 25 metres.

It was discovered by Joe Davis, Leicestershire Conservation Team Leader and Rutland Wildlife Trust, during the routine draining of a lake in the Rutland Water Reservoir.

“It was all wonderful and a strange turn of events,” Davis said. “This is bigger than a killer whale, it’s amazing.”

Describing himself as “very troubled,” he added, “A lot of people spend their careers looking for something like this…I feel very lucky.

“My kids have now called me Joe Rasic!”

A truly unprecedented discovery

Dr Dean Lomax, a paleontologist who studied the species, said: ‘Although there are many ichthyosaur fossils found in Britain, it is remarkable that Ichthyosaur Rutland is the largest skeleton ever found in the UK.

“It is truly an unprecedented discovery and one of the greatest in the history of British paleontology.”

Photo: Joe Davis said his kids nicknamed him “Joe Rasick”

Ichthyosaurs, which are marine reptiles not dinosaurs, first appeared about 250 million years ago and became extinct 90 million years ago.

Named sea dragons because they tend to have very large teeth and eyes, they were first discovered in the early 1800s by paleontologist and paleontologist Mary Anning, and are the subject of the recent Netflix movie Ammonite.

Reptiles are similar in shape to dolphins in size from 1-25 m (3-82 ft).

Photo: the find is 10 meters long Photo: Rutland Water Nature Reserve, where the fossil was found

“Beautiful epic”

Dr. Lomax said he threw up as soon as he saw the photos of the find.

“I thought, ‘Wow, this can be very epic.'” You have these vertebrae that were huge, and I immediately realized that they belonged to an ichthyosaur … We had a wonderful thing. “

He said the scientist led a miniature team to the site in February 2021, adding that they were “amazed” to discover a “virtually complete skeleton.

Photo: Dr Dean Lomax said he soon realized the discovery could be ‘very epic’

Dr Lomax said: “This is not only the largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever found in Britain, it is also the largest complete skeleton of any prehistoric reptile found in the UK as well.”

Mr. Lomax was among the team of paleontologists that excavated the skeleton in August and September.

Complete to the tip of the tail.

Two incomplete and much smaller ichthyosaurs were found during the initial construction of Rutland waters in the 1970s. However, the latest discovery is the first complete skeleton.

Dr Mark Evans from the British Antarctic Survey said: ‘I have been studying fossil reptiles of Jurassic in Rutland and Leicestershire for over 20 years.

Image: A team of paleontologists working on the skeleton of an ichthyosaur

“When I first saw the sample exposure with Joe Davis, I could tell it was the largest known ichthyosaur in either county.

“However, it was only after our exploratory drilling that we realized that it was practically complete to the tip of the tail.”

Read more from Sky News: Finding a 72-million-year-old dinosaur embryo inside a fossilized egg Dinosaur footprints dating back 200 million years have been discovered, experts believe

“It’s a very important discovery both nationally and internationally,” Dr. Evans added.

Anglian Water, which owns the area, said it is now seeking funding to protect and display the bones nearby.

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