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A giant jawbone found by a father-daughter fossil-collecting couple on a beach in Somerset along the English coast belonged to a newly discovered species that is likely to be the largest known marine reptile to ever swim the world’s oceans.
Scientists consider the blue whale, which grows up to 110 feet (33.5 meters) long, to be the largest known animal on the planet. But the 202-million-year-old reptile, known as an ichthyosaur or “fish lizard,” may rival its size.
The ichthyosaur’s jawbone, or surangular, was a long, curved bone at the top of the lower jaw just behind the teeth, and was more than 6.5 feet (2 meters) long. Researchers believe the creature, named Ichthyotitan severnensis, or “giant fish lizard of the Severn” in Latin, was more than 82 feet (25 meters) long, or the length of two city buses.
Justin and Ruby Reynolds, who live in Braunton, England, recovered the first pieces of the jawbone in May 2020 while searching for fossils on the beach at Blue Anchor, Somerset. Ruby, then 11, saw the first chunk of bone, and then she and her father found additional pieces together.
The remarkable discovery could shed more light on the prehistoric giant’s role in evolutionary history and the ocean ecosystem it brought home, according to Marcello Perillo, a graduate student in evolutionary paleobiology at the University of Bonn in Germany. He is a co-author of a new report describing the discovery that appeared Wednesday in the journal PLOS One.
reveal an unknown ichthyosaur
Encouraged by the idea that the fossil discovery could be significant, the Reynoldses contacted Dr. Dean Lomax, a paleontologist at the University of Manchester and an 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. An ichthyosaur expert, Lomax has named many new species to science in recent years.
Intrigued by the fossil, Lomax contacted the fossil collector Paul de la Salle, who found a huge ichthyosaur jawbone that looked remarkably similar in May 2016. De la Salle discovered the first jawbone about 6.2 miles (10 kilometers ) away from Devon along the coast at Lilstock.
Lomax, who was the lead author of the new report, and coauthor de la Salle had previously studied the discovery together and co-authored an April 2018 paper on the discovery, suspecting that it might be related with a previously unknown species of ichthyosaur. But the researchers needed additional evidence, and the latter, almost the same, provided an opportunity to confirm a new species.
“To think that my discovery in 2016 would stimulate so much interest in these gigantic creatures fills me with joy,” said de la Salle. “When I found the first jawbone, I knew there was something special. It’s incredible to have seconds that confirm our results. I am very happy.”
Together, the Reynoldses, Lomax, de la Salle and others returned to Blue Anchor to search for additional fragments. The team found other pieces that fit together perfectly, like completing a puzzle.
“When Ruby and I received the first two pieces we were very excited because we realized that this was important and unusual,” Justin Reynolds said in a statement. “When I found the back of the jaw, I was delighted because that is one of the defining parts of Paul’s earlier discovery.”
The researchers reunited on the jawbone by October 2022.
“I was surprised by the discovery,” Lomax said in a statement. “In 2018, my team (including Paul de la Salle) studied and described Paul’s huge jawbone and we hoped that one day it would come to light. This new specimen is more complete, better preserved, and shows that we now have two of these huge bones – called suruicles – that have a unique shape and structure. I really enjoyed it, to say the least.”
Assemble a giant ichthyosaur
The bones date back to the end of the Triassic Period, during a period known as the Rhaetian when ichthyosaurs swam in the oceans and dinosaurs ruled the land.
The newly discovered jawbone is a better quality specimen than the first, showing the creature’s surangular features that make it different from other species, Lomax said.
The jawbones of the tsevernensis date back about 13 million years after giant ichthyosaur fossils of different species previously found in Canada and China.
Ichthyosaurs, which looked a bit like modern dolphins, first appeared about 250 million years ago. Over time, some evolved to have larger body sizes, and by 202 million years ago, oceanic titans such as severnensis were probably the largest marine reptiles.
But scientists believe that the giant ichthyosaurs disappeared during an ocean acidification event that occurred about 200 million years ago, and the surviving ichthyosaurs did not grow to those gargantuan sizes again before going extinct 94 million years ago.
The researchers stressed that more evidence is needed to confirm the exact size of severnensis, and they remain hopeful that a complete skull or skeleton may be found in the future, Lomax said.
Coauthor Perillo of the University of Bonn studied the histology, or microscopic anatomy, of the ichthyosaur bones and found that the reptile was likely still growing at the time of its death, meaning that severnensis may have grown larger than a whale. blue
Histology can reveal the hidden biological information in fossilized bones, revealing how individual animals evolved and adapted to specialized lifestyles, he said. For example, some ichthyosaurs had bones that helped them dive deep or survive in shallow waters.
“Through the histology we can also understand how fast and how far they have grown; in (the ichthyosaur’s) case we could not see convincing signs that growth had stopped,” Perillo said. “This supports the idea that, if the animal had not died, it would probably have continued to grow, beyond its estimated 25 metres. So much about these giants is still shrouded in mystery, but one fossil at a time we will be able to solve their mystery.”
Uncovering the history of marine reptiles is critical to understanding ancient ocean ecosystems because the creatures filled different niches and shaped ocean food chains, Perillo said, creating competition and “a never-ending spiral of evolution.”
“From them we can understand how the evolutionary laws shaped life, what caused life to be what it is now,” he said. “We can understand how changes in the environment affect ecological communities and predict future ecological developments in our current environment.”
The future of paleontology
Paleontologist Mary Anning and her older brother, Joseph, discovered the first known ichthyosaur fossils in 1811 and 1812, decades before the word dinosaur was even part of our vocabulary. Since then, fossils of more than 100 species of ichthyosaurs have been identified worldwide.
The discovery made by the Reynoldses and de la Salle will soon be on display at the Bristol Art Gallery and Museum in the UK.
“It was really cool to find part of this huge ichthyosaur. I am very proud to be involved in a scientific discovery like this,” said Ruby Reynolds in a statement.
Lomax said he has enjoyed working with fossil collectors in recent years because he believes paleontology is a scientific field where anyone can make a significant contribution.
“For Ruby Reynolds, she not only found this important fossil but also helped name a type of giant prehistoric reptile,” Lomax said in an email. “There probably aren’t many 15-year-olds who can say that! Mary Anna in the making, perhaps. But, whether Ruby goes down the path of paleontology or science, the most important thing is that she and Justin and Paul have made a huge contribution to paleontology and to our understanding of ancient life.”
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