‘Sea Dragon’ fossil discovered in England

The fossilised remains of an ichthyosaur have been found in England’s Midlands, the largest and most complete of its kind discovered in the UK, according to a news release issued by Anglian Water. Ichthyosaurs were large marine reptiles similar in shape to dolphins but grew up to lengths of 25 metres.

The 10-metre long fossil was discovered in February 2021 in Rutland Water and is thought to be 180 million years old. A conservationist at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, Joe Davis, found the ichthyosaur during a routine draining of a lagoon island for re-landscaping. Known as sea dragons due to having large eyes and teeth, Ichthyosaurs went extinct around 90 million years ago.