A father and daughter duo found the jawbone of the species and the research team named the new marine reptile species Latin for 'giant fish lizard of the Severn.'
A father and daughter duo found the jawbone of the species and the research team named the new marine reptile species Latin for 'giant fish lizard of the Severn.'A father and daughter, searching for fossils on an English beach, found more than they expected: the jawbone of what may be the largest known marine reptile. Scientists estimate that the giant ichthyosaur, from which the jawbone came, measured 80 feet long and lived during the late Triassic period.
"It is quite remarkable to think that gigantic, blue whale-sized ichthyosaurs were swimming in the oceans around what was the UK during the Triassic Period," said Lomax in the release. Lomax was impressed that Ruby and Justin suspected that their discovery was an ichthyosaur jawbone. “They recognized that it matched the one we described in 2018,” he said. “I asked them whether they would like to join my team to study and describe this fossil, including naming it.”
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