Ichthyotitan severnensis It lived in the Triassic seas around 202 million years ago and may have grown over 25 meters (82 feet) long.
Ichthyosaurs are dolphin-like marine reptiles known from hundreds of fossils from the time of the dinosaurs.
These creatures ranged in size from less than a meter to over 20 meters (65 feet) in length.
All animals gave birth to live young in the sea, and some had giant eyes and so-called warm-blooded physiology, and some were fast swimmers and deep divers.
“Ichthyosaurs first evolved during the early Triassic period, about 250 million years ago,” said Dr Dean Lomax and colleagues from the Universities of Bristol and Manchester.
“Within a few million years, some ichthyosaurs evolved to reach lengths of 15 meters or more, and by the late Triassic period (about 200 million years ago), the largest fish, including the newly described ichthyosaurs. The dragon has evolved. Ichthyotitan severnensis“
“But this reign didn’t necessarily last long. Some species of ichthyosaurs continued to roam the oceans for millions of years, but these ‘giant ichthyosaurs’ It is thought to have become extinct during the Tatami-Jurassic extinction event. And this unique group of marine reptiles never reached such a world again. Huge size.”
two fragmentary jaw bones Ichthyotitan severnensis Collected from the uppermost layer of the Triassic period Westbury Mudstone Formation Located in Somerset, England.
Based on the length of the fossil, the new species could have been a whopping 25 meters long, or twice as long as a city bus.
“In 2018, my team studied and described a giant jawbone, and we were hopeful that one day another jawbone would be revealed,” Dr. Lomax said.
“The new specimen is more complete and better preserved, showing that there are two large bones (called quadrilateral bones) with unique shapes and structures.”
“It’s quite amazing to think that gigantic ichthyosaurs, the size of blue whales, were swimming in the seas around Britain during the Triassic period.”
“These jaw bones provide intriguing evidence that perhaps someday the complete skull or skeleton of these giants may be discovered. You never know.”
discovery of Ichthyotitan severnensis is explained in paper in diary PLoS ONE.
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DR Lomax other. 2024. The last giant: new evidence of a giant Late Triassic (Rhaetian) ichthyosaur from Britain. PLoS ONE 19 (4): e0300289; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300289
Source: www.sci.news
