In England, a remarkable discovery has been made – the remains of a 33-foot-long sea creature called a mosasaur. This massive animal swam in the oceans during the time of the dinosaurs, around 180 million years ago. The fossil is now housed in a museum and is the largest and most complete example of its kind ever found in the UK.
According to Dean Lomax, a paleontologist and visiting scientist at the University of Manchester, this discovery is truly remarkable and is considered one of the most significant findings in British palaeontological history.
Even though numerous ichthyosaurs have been discovered in the United Kingdom, none of them compare in size to the recently found one.
While strolling along a drained lagoon with his co-worker Paul Trevor, who is also employed by the trust, Davis spotted something that resembled clay pipes jutting out of the mire. He pointed out to Trevor that these objects looked like vertebrae. Davis was no stranger to marine animal bones, as he had previously unearthed skeletons of whales and dolphins while laboring on the Hebrides, which are a group of islands located in the northwest region of Scotland.
As we were exploring the area, we came across what appeared to be a spine and later on Paul Trevor stumbled upon what seemed like a jawbone,” shared Davis. The discovery left them in awe. This fossil was excavated during the months of August and September in 2021 by archaeologists.
The ichthyosaur fossil is still under examination and preservation by archaeologists. Details about the discovery will be released in scientific papers at a later date, but there is currently no specific timeline for when this will happen.
