The size of the remains of the prehistoric sea lizard was about 10 meters
The fossilized remains of a giant ichthyosaur, a prehistoric sea lizard that lived about 180 million years ago, were discovered by paleontologists in the UK.
According to scientists, the size of the ichthyosaur skeleton is about 10 meters, and the skull of a huge animal weighs about a ton. This is the largest and best-preserved ichthyosaur remains ever found in the UK, the BBC notes. This find has already been called one of the most important events in the history of British paleontology.
Giant marine reptiles that looked like dolphins once swam the seas. An almost complete fossilized ichthyosaur skeleton, 180 million years old and 10 meters long, has now been discovered in the UK. According to NewScientist, this fossil is the largest and most complete ichthyosaur skeleton found in the UK. The remains of a prehistoric animal were found in the Rutland Water Nature Reserve near Leicester.
Joe Davis of the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Fund says he discovered the fossil by accident while landscaping the region. “I know a lot of people have been looking for something like this their entire lives, and I am very lucky to have stumbled upon it,” he says.
It is believed to be the first of its kind, Temnodontosaurus trigonodon, found in the UK. Such fossils are commonly found in North America and Germany.
The ichthyosaurus was a carnivore and belongs to a group that is believed to have perhaps the largest eyes of any known vertebrate – about 20 centimeters in diameter.
“This is a truly unprecedented discovery and one of the greatest discoveries in the history of British paleontology,” says Dr. Dean Lomax of the University of Manchester, who led the fossil excavation.
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