The huge ichthyosaur could reach over 25 meters in length and existed during the late Triassic period. A newly identified species of ichthyosaur may be the largest marine reptile ever recorded, according to a study recently published in the open access journal. PLOS ONE. Research by Dean R. Lomax and his team at the Universities of Bristol and Manchester (UK) adds important information about the scale of prehistoric marine life.

Over the past few years, Lomax and his research team discovered and collected individual fragments of an ichthyosaur jaw from the Westbury Mudstone Formation in Somerset, England. The new bone was similar in size and shape to another jawbone collected from the same rock formation just a few miles away, and researchers now believe the two jawbones belong to a previously unidentified species of ichthyosaur, a group of giant ocean-dwelling reptiles. since the age of dinosaurs.

Size of Ichthyotitan severnensis

The new species was named according to the length of these bones. ichthyotian severnensisIt can be 25 meters (82 feet) long, or twice the length of a city bus. But because the new species was described with only limited bone fragments, the study’s authors emphasize that more paleontological evidence is needed to confirm how large the species was. I. severnensis.

Ichthyosaurs, many of which resemble modern dolphins, first appeared at the beginning of the Triassic period, about 250 million years ago. Over several million years, some ichthyosaurs evolved to be at least 15 meters (49 ft) long, and by the Late Triassic (about 200 million years ago), the largest ichthyosaurs, including the recently described ones, evolved. I. severnensis. But this rule did not have to last very long. Although some species of ichthyosaurs continued to roam the oceans for millions of years, these “giant ichthyosaurs” are thought to have gone extinct during the extinction event of the Triassic and Jurassic periods 200 million years ago, and this unique group of marine reptiles never recovered to that extent again. . gigantic size.

Dr. Dean Lomax adds: “In 2018, my team (including Paul de la Salle) examined and described Paul’s giant jaw; We hoped that one day another would appear. This new specimen is more complete and better preserved, showing that we now have two giant bones (called supra-angular bones) with a unique shape and structure. It’s quite surprising to think that giant ichthyosaurs the size of blue whales swam in the oceans around Great Britain during the Triassic. These jawbones are impressive evidence that perhaps one day a complete skull or skeleton of one of these giants may be found. You’ll never know.”