Scientists have determined that the fossils they found in the UK belong to the new “ichthyosaur” species, the longest known marine reptile so far, which lived in the oceans about 202 million years ago.
According to the article published in the journal Plos ONE, scientists examined fossilized jaw bones found on beaches in the Somerset region in 2016 and 2020.
In the study, it was determined that the jaw bones belong to the new ichthyosaur species, the longest marine reptile known so far.
From the fossils unearthed, scientists named this new species “Ichthyotitan severnensis”.
Scientists pointed out that the species lived at the same time as dinosaurs about 202 million years ago.
“Based on the size of the jaw bones, one meter long and the other two meters long, we calculated that the animal could have been 25 meters long” said Dr. Dean Lomax, a paleontologist at the University of Bristol in the UK.
Lomax said they need more evidence to determine the exact size of the new species.
The largest living animal in the world is thought to be the blue whale, which is about 33 meters long. Scientists believe that this species may be close to blue whales in terms of size.
The fossilized jaw bones will be exhibited at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in England.
