Fossil Of The Largest Prehistoric Sea Creature Was Discovered

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Southwest England is now the hot spot for archeologists since a fossil of a giant sea creature has just been found. The fossil is suspected to have come from an animal that lived almost 205 million years ago in the marine environment of the time, the creature spanning up to 26 meters in length. If that is not impressive then we do not know what is.

More about the fossil and its study

From what we know so far we expected that the blue whale would be the largest sea creature known to mankind but this finding suggests that there may have been even larger creatures living in the waters in prehistoric times. The fossil has been found to be from Ichthyosaurs. Their bodies we shaped similar to those of dolphins. Research shows that they may have gone extinct almost 25 million years ago right before the mass extinction of dinosaurs.

Most Ichthyosaurs were smaller than the fossil that was found, spanning almost up to 3 meters long.

This fossil was found back in May of 2016 by Paul de la Salle as he was looking on the beach of Lilstock in Somerset. Not knowing for sure if what he found was an Ichthyosaurs but suspecting that he was right, he sent a couple of pictures to experts for further analysis. His suspicion was indeed the truth.

By now you may have wondered why this discovery is so important. Well, for one, this discovery could help to reconstruct and reinterpret a series of findings near the village of Aust in Gloucestershire. They have been interpreted as belonging to a terrestrial dinosaur but that was never completely demonstrated. This new fossil could help reshape how archaeologists looked at this fossils and help come up with a new reason for the existence of these bones and perhaps even a new purpose.

As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.