Jaw-dropping Discovery: Largest Marine Reptile Unearthed by Paleontologists

In May 2020, a second jawbone was discovered on the beach at Blue Anchor, Somerset while searching for fossils. Ruby, who was 11 years old at the time, found the first piece of the giant bone and then continued to look for more. Realizing the significance of their discovery, they contacted Dr. Dean Lomax, a leading expert on ichthyosaurs and a palaeontologist at The University of Manchester. Dr. Lomax, who is also a 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol, then reached out to Paul de la Salle, an experienced fossil collector who had found the first giant jawbone in May 2016 along the coast at Lilstock. Dr. Dean Lomax expressed his amazement at the find.We discovered Paul’s giant jawbone in 2018 and hoped for another discovery. Now, we have found a more complete and better-preserved specimen, giving us two giant bones with a unique shape and structure. I was very excited to say the least. Justin, Ruby, Paul, Dr. Lomax, and several family members visited the site to search for more pieces of this rare find. The team eventually found additional pieces of the same jaw that fit together perfectly, like a multimillion-year-old jigsaw puzzle.

Justin expressed his excitement when he and Ruby discovered the first two pieces, realizing the significance and rarity of their find. He was particularly thrilled when he found the back part of the jaw, which is a defining feature of Paul’s earlier discovery. The final piece of bone was recovered in October 2022.

The research team, led by Dr. Lomax, announced that the jaw bones belong to a new species of giant ichthyosaur, estimated to be about the size of a blue whale. The comparison of the two examples of the same bone with the same unique features from the same geologic time zone supports this finding.The team has named the new genus and species Ichthyotitan severnensis, which means “giant fish lizard of the Severn.” The bones date back to around 202 million years ago, during the end of the Triassic Period in a time known as the Rhaetian. This was a time when massive ichthyosaurs swam the seas while dinosaurs roamed the land. However, this marked the end of the titans’ era, as the rocks above these fossils tell the story of a cataclysmic event known as the Late Triassic global mass extinction. After this time, giant ichthyosaurs from the Shastasauridae family became extinct. Today, these bones are a significant find.The discovery of the Ichthyotitan represents the very last of their kind.

Ichthyotitan is not the world’s first giant ichthyosaur, but the discoveries made by de la Salles and Reynolds are unique among those known to science. These two bones were found about 13 million years after their latest geologic relatives, which include Shonisaurus sikanniensis from British Columbia, Canada, and Himalayasaurus tibetensis from Tibet, China.

Dr. Lomax commented, “I was highly impressed that Ruby and Justin correctly identified the discovery as another enormous jawbone from an ichthyosaur. They recognized that it matched the one we described in 2018. I asked them whether…”.

When I invited my students to join my team and study this fossil, they eagerly accepted. Ruby, in particular, is thrilled to have contributed to the discovery and naming of a huge prehistoric reptile. At just 15 years old, she can now call herself a published scientist. She may very well be a future Mary Anning in the making.”

Ruby expressed her excitement, stating, “It was amazing to uncover part of this enormous ichthyosaur. I am incredibly proud to have been involved in such a significant scientific discovery.”

In-depth examinations of the bones’ internal structures were conducted by Marcello Perillo, a master’s student from the Univers.The bones found in the city of Bonn, Germany, were confirmed to be from an ichthyosaur by the work of a scientist. His research also showed that the animal was still growing at the time of its death. He mentioned that the unique histological characteristics of the giant ichthyosaur lower jaws were confirmed, suggesting unknown bone development strategies. These strategies likely allowed late Triassic ichthyosaurs to reach the known biological limits of vertebrate size. Much about these giants is still unknown, but studying one fossil at a time will help unravel the mystery.unveil their mystery.”

Wrapping up the study, Paul de la Salle remarked: “I am thrilled to see the amount of interest that my discovery in 2016 has generated for these massive creatures. When I came across the first jawbone, I had a feeling it was something extraordinary. To find a second one that confirms our initial findings is truly amazing. I am ecstatic.”

The latest findings have been released today in the freely accessible publication PLOS ONE.

The discoveries made by Ruby, Justin, and Paul will be showcased at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery in the near future.

Lomax stated: “This research has been ongoing for nearly eight years. It is quite remarkable to consider the tremendous size and age of these creatures.”

, enormous ichthyosaurs the size of blue whales were swimming in the oceans around what is now the UK during the Triassic Period. These jawbones provide exciting evidence that suggests a complete skull or skeleton of one of these giants might be discovered in the future. It’s always possible.”

Journal Reference:

1. Dean R. Lomax, Paul de la Salle, Marcello Perillo, Justin Reynolds, Ruby Reynolds, James F. Waldron. The last giants: New evidence for giant Late Triassic (Rhaetian) ichthyosaurs from the UK. PLOS ONE, 2024; 19 (4): e0300289 DOI: <a href=”http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone rnrn10.1371/journal.pone.0300289