RUTLAND, England — A discovery in the U.K. has caused a lot of excitement for paleontologists who said it is a nearly complete fossil of an ichthyosaur.
The 180 million-year-old fossilized remains of the animal were found in Rutland, and it is the largest and most complete fossil of its kind ever found in the U.K., measuring nearly 33 feet in length and with a 6-foot skull weighing one ton, CNN reported.
The fossil was found in February 2021 during a re-landscaping procedure, CBS News reported. In a statement, Joe Davis, who was part of the water conservation team which first uncovered it, said he thought the remains were actually clay pipes sticking out of the mud, until when they got closer they could clearly see a spine, CBS News reported.
The fossil is currently being studied in an undisclosed location, but will be returned to Rutland for permanent display, The BBC reported.
Ichthyosaurs, whose name means “fish lizard,” are distant relatives of lizards and snakes, and were not considered dinosaurs, according to Brittanica. The ichthyosaurus is considered one of the fastest and most deadly creatures of prehistoric times, USA Today reported.
During the time period when the fossil was made, the ichthyosaur was the top of the food chain, and was one of the biggest animals in the sea worldwide, NBC News reported.
Dean Lomax, a paleontologist who worked on the excavation, told CNN the discovery was “the tip of the iceberg” with the potential of more discoveries down the line once more rock has been cleared away.