A rare 180 million-year-old sea dragon fossil has been discovered by scientists in the UK.
The 10-metre long ichthyosaur was found during a routine draining of a lagoon at the Rutland Water Nature Reserve.
The fossil is believed to be the biggest and most complete skeleton found to date of its kind in the country and was discovered by Joe Davis, Conservation Team Leader at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.
“The find has been absolutely fascinating and a real career highlight, it’s great to learn so much from the discovery and to think that this amazing creature was once swimming in seas above us, and now once again Rutland Water is a haven for wetland wildlife albeit on a smaller scale,” Mr Davis said in a statement.
The ichthyosaurs first appeared around 250 million years ago and went extinct 90 million years ago.
They were a group of marine reptiles that resembled dolphins in shape, while varying in size from one to more than 25 metres in length.
The fragile remains of the skeleton were carefully excavated in August and September last year by a team of expert palaeontologists assembled from around the UK.
The excavation was led by world ichthyosaur expert Dr Dean Lomax, who has studied thousands of ichthyosaurs and named five new species in the process, along with other marine reptile experts.
“It was an honour to lead the excavation,” Dr Lomax said.
“Despite the many ichthyosaur fossils found in Britain, it is remarkable to think that the Rutland ichthyosaur is the largest skeleton ever found in the UK.
“It is a truly unprecedented discovery and one of the greatest finds in British palaeontological history.”
Two incomplete and much smaller ichthyosaurs were previously found during the initial construction of Rutland Water in the 1970s.
