FOSSILS found by an 11-year-old girl on a beach in Somerset belonged to one of the largest marine reptiles ever, experts believe.
Ruby Reynolds – now 15 – stumbled across fossilised remains of a gigantic jawbone measuring more than two metres in 2020.
Experts believe the sea beast is one of the largest marine reptiles ever[/caption] Ruby found the remains on a fossil hunt in 2020[/caption] It’s thought the creature measured about 25 metres long[/caption]She and her father, Justin Reynolds, stumbled across the piece while fossil hunting at the seaside village Blue Anchor.
Palaeontologists say the pieces are from a type of ocean-going reptile called an ichthyosaur and estimate it was around 25 metres in length, the size of two buses.
It was so cool to discover part of this gigantic ichthyosaur. I am very proud to have played a part in a scientific discovery like this
Ruby Reynolds
That’s also about as long as a blue whale, which would make it among the largest marine reptiles ever recorded.
The prehistoric creature roamed the seas around 202million years ago in the age of the dinosaur.
Another piece was previously found by fossil hunter Paul de la Salle in 2016 along the Somerset coast at Lilstock which was already being studied.
“When Ruby and I found the first two pieces we were very excited as we realised that this was something important and unusual,” Mr Reynolds said.
“When I found the back part of the jaw, I was thrilled because that is one of the defining parts of Paul’s earlier discovery.”
Ruby, added: “It was so cool to discover part of this gigantic ichthyosaur. I am very proud to have played a part in a scientific discovery like this.”
The pair contacted Dr Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist at The University of Manchester, after finding the haul of fossils.
Experts have named the creature Ichthyotitan severnensis, which means giant fish lizard of the Severn.
Dr Lomax, said: “I was amazed by the find. In 2018, my team (including Paul de la Salle) studied and described Paul’s giant jawbone and we had hoped that one day another would come to light.
“This new specimen is more complete, better preserved, and shows that we now have two of these giant bones – called a surangular – that have a unique shape and structure.
“I became very excited, to say the least.”
He added: “I was highly impressed that Ruby and Justin correctly identified the discovery as another enormous jawbone from an ichthyosaur.
“They recognised that it matched the one we described in 2018. I asked them whether they would like to join my team to study and describe this fossil, including naming it.
“They jumped at the chance. For Ruby, especially, she is now a published scientist who not only found but also helped to name a type of gigantic prehistoric reptile.
“There are probably not many 15-year-olds who can say that. A Mary Anning in the making, perhaps.”
The new research is published in the journal Plos One.
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