Digging up ancient sea dragons - 24th January 2022

The largest sea dragon fossil ever excavated in the UK has been described as "one of the greatest finds in British palaeontological history." Discovered in a drained reservoir undergoing repairs, the skeleton measures 10 metres, with a skull which weighs around a tonne.

Found in the UK's Midlands region, it's the most complete fossil of its kind known in the country. It's thought to date from 180 million years ago. It was initially spotted by Joe Davis, a conservation team leader at the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, as the dry reservoir bed was being landscaped.

"I looked down at what seemed like stones or ridges in the mud and I said this looks a bit organic, a bit different. Then we saw something that looked almost like a jawbone," reported Davis.

At first sight, he believed he'd come across a dinosaur and notified the local authority. A closer inspection by Dr Dean Lomax and his team of palaeontologists confirmed that the fossilised remains were in fact an ichthyosaur, and "a truly unprecedented discovery".

Dr Lomax, an ichthyosaur specialist, explained the uniqueness of the find. "Usually, we think of ichthyosaurs and other marine reptiles being discovered along the Jurassic coast in Dorset or the Yorkshire coast, where many of them are exposed by the erosion of the cliffs. Here at an inland location is very unusual."

The first discoveries of sea dragons, so called due to their enormous teeth and bulging eyes, were made by 19th century fossil hunter and palaeontologist Mary Anning. The dolphin-shaped marine reptiles inhabited Earth between 250 million and 90 million years ago. They varied in size, with some as long as 25 metres.

The Rutland Water reservoir has been the site of minor fossil discoveries before. While it was under construction in the 1970s, workers stumbled upon two incomplete fossils of a smaller ichthyosaur species.