Giant Ocean Reptile Discovered by Father, Daughter
2024-04-21
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1An ancient fossil found by a girl and her father on a beach in England belongs to a creature that might have been among the largest animals ever on Earth.
2Researchers said in a recent study that the fossilized bone, called a surangular, was from a reptile called an ichthyosaur that lived in the sea.
3Based on its size, compared to the same bone in closely related ichthyosaurs, the researchers estimated that the creature was between 22 and 26 meters long.
4They named it Ichthyotitan severnensis.
5That would make it possibly the largest known marine reptile. Its size would be close to the largest whales alive today.
6The blue whale, considered the largest animal ever to have lived, can reach about 30 meters in length.
7Marine reptiles lived in the world's oceans at the same time that dinosaurs lived on the land. Ichthyosaurs disappeared 90 million years ago.
8They came in several sizes.
9The creatures ate fish and other sea animals.
10Ichthyotitan, however, is known only from two jawbones.
11The jaw forms the lower part of the mouth.
12Ruby Reynolds and her father Justin Reynolds found one of the bones in 2020 at Blue Anchor in Somerset.
13The other bone is from a different Ichthyotitan individual found in 2016, along the Somerset coast at Lilstock.
14Dean Lomax was the lead writer of the study published recently in PLOS ONE.
15Lomax said, "It is quite remarkable to think that gigantic, blue whale-sized ichthyosaurs were swimming in the oceans around the time that dinosaurs were walking on land in what is now the UK (Britain) during the Triassic Period."
16The Triassic Period describes a time over 200 million years ago.
17Ruby Reynolds was 11 at the time she and her father discovered the fossil surangular bone on the beach.
18Ruby continued to search the area and found a second piece - much larger than the first - partly buried in the ground.
19They then contacted Lomax, an ichthyosaur expert, and more parts of the bone were unearthed.
20Ruby's part in the discovery has led to comparisons with Mary Anning.
21Anning was a 19th century British fossil hunter who, among other things, discovered ichthyosaur fossils when she was 12.
22"I think Mary Anning was an incredible paleontologist, and it's amazing to be compared to her," Ruby said.
23Justin Reynolds added, "It has been an amazing...and fun experience to work with these experts, and we are proud to be part of the team and co-authors of a scientific paper which names a new species and genus."
24Fossil collector Paul de la Salle found the 2016 remains now identified as Ichthyotitan.
25The big marine reptile was a member of a family of giant ichthyosaurs called Shastasauridae.
26These creatures lived 13 million years later than other ichthyosaurs.
27They survived until a world-wide event caused many kinds of animals to disappear about 201 million years ago at the end of the Triassic Period.
28No other fossils from Ichthyotitan have been discovered.
29But the researchers have been able to guess at its appearance based on other members of its family, including Shonisaurus from British Columbia, Canada.
30Study co-writer Jimmy Waldron used the term humbled - meaning to be made to feel less important or proud - to describe the discoveries.
31Waldron said, "Discoveries like this create incredible moments where we become humbled at our size and place in the world."
32I'm John Russell.
1An ancient fossil found by a girl and her father on a beach in England belongs to a creature that might have been among the largest animals ever on Earth. 2Researchers said in a recent study that the fossilized bone, called a surangular, was from a reptile called an ichthyosaur that lived in the sea. Based on its size, compared to the same bone in closely related ichthyosaurs, the researchers estimated that the creature was between 22 and 26 meters long. They named it Ichthyotitan severnensis. 3That would make it possibly the largest known marine reptile. Its size would be close to the largest whales alive today. The blue whale, considered the largest animal ever to have lived, can reach about 30 meters in length. 4Marine reptiles lived in the world's oceans at the same time that dinosaurs lived on the land. Ichthyosaurs disappeared 90 million years ago. They came in several sizes. The creatures ate fish and other sea animals. 5Ichthyotitan, however, is known only from two jawbones. The jaw forms the lower part of the mouth. 6Ruby Reynolds and her father Justin Reynolds found one of the bones in 2020 at Blue Anchor in Somerset. The other bone is from a different Ichthyotitan individual found in 2016, along the Somerset coast at Lilstock. 7Dean Lomax was the lead writer of the study published recently in PLOS ONE. Lomax said, "It is quite remarkable to think that gigantic, blue whale-sized ichthyosaurs were swimming in the oceans around the time that dinosaurs were walking on land in what is now the UK (Britain) during the Triassic Period." 8The Triassic Period describes a time over 200 million years ago. 9Ruby Reynolds was 11 at the time she and her father discovered the fossil surangular bone on the beach. Ruby continued to search the area and found a second piece - much larger than the first - partly buried in the ground. They then contacted Lomax, an ichthyosaur expert, and more parts of the bone were unearthed. 10Ruby's part in the discovery has led to comparisons with Mary Anning. Anning was a 19th century British fossil hunter who, among other things, discovered ichthyosaur fossils when she was 12. 11"I think Mary Anning was an incredible paleontologist, and it's amazing to be compared to her," Ruby said. 12Justin Reynolds added, "It has been an amazing...and fun experience to work with these experts, and we are proud to be part of the team and co-authors of a scientific paper which names a new species and genus." 13Fossil collector Paul de la Salle found the 2016 remains now identified as Ichthyotitan. 14The big marine reptile was a member of a family of giant ichthyosaurs called Shastasauridae. These creatures lived 13 million years later than other ichthyosaurs. They survived until a world-wide event caused many kinds of animals to disappear about 201 million years ago at the end of the Triassic Period. 15No other fossils from Ichthyotitan have been discovered. But the researchers have been able to guess at its appearance based on other members of its family, including Shonisaurus from British Columbia, Canada. 16Study co-writer Jimmy Waldron used the term humbled - meaning to be made to feel less important or proud - to describe the discoveries. 17Waldron said, "Discoveries like this create incredible moments where we become humbled at our size and place in the world." 18I'm John Russell. 19Will Dunham reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 20________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22fossil - n. the fossilized remains of a plant or animal that lived in the distant past 23marine -- -adj. of or relating to the sea or the plants and animals that live in the sea 24remarkable - adj. unusual or surprising; impressive 25gigantic - adj. very large 26paleontologist - n. the science that deals with the fossils of animals and plants that lived very long ago 27species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 28genus - n. a group of related animals or plants that includes several or many different species