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United Kingdom.  Bones discovered by amateurs helped identify the largest marine reptile

United Kingdom. Bones discovered by amateurs helped identify the largest marine reptile

“Animal Longer Than Two Buses, Researchers Identify Largest Marine Reptile” informs BBC. The British Channel's website echoes a The study was published on April 17 Plus one.

Bones found off the coast of Somerset, England, reveal that they belong to a still-unknown species of ichthyosaur that measured 20 to 25 meters long. Ichthyotitan severnensis (giant Severn River lizard), which lived about 202 million years ago. These animals were not dinosaurs, but they lived with them.

The giant ichthyosaurs died out in the mass extinction, and those that survived never evolved to reach these large sizes again. BBC Dean Lomax, a paleontologist at the University of Bristol, is the first author of the study.

The name Ruby Reynolds appears among the authors of the publication. In 2020, the young woman discovered the jaw fragments with her father, which allowed her to accurately identify the animal. The first components were already discovered in 2016 and released in 2018. The last piece was discovered in 2022.

“For Dean Lomax, this discovery shows the importance of these amateurs who collect fossils”, Underlines the British Channel.

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