Uncovering the Secrets of the Jurassic Ocean: 11-year-old Girl Discovers Fossil of Gigantic Marine Reptile
FOSSILS found by an 11-year-old girl on a beach in Somerset belonged to one of the largest marine reptiles ever, experts believe.
The Incredible Discovery by Ruby Reynolds
Ruby Reynolds – now 15 – stumbled across fossilized remains of a gigantic jawbone measuring more than two meters in 2020.
The Massive Marine Reptile
It’s thought the creature measured about 25 meters long. Experts believe the sea beast is one of the largest marine reptiles ever recorded.
A Groundbreaking Find
She and her father, Justin Reynolds, stumbled across the piece while fossil hunting at the seaside village Blue Anchor. Palaeontologists say the pieces are from a type of ocean-going reptile called an ichthyosaur and estimate it was around 25 meters in length, the size of two buses.
A Monumental Scientific Discovery
The prehistoric creature roamed the seas around 202 million years ago in the age of the dinosaur. Experts have named the creature Ichthyotitan severnensis, which means giant fish lizard of the Severn.
An Exciting Collaboration
The pair contacted Dr. Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist at The University of Manchester, after finding the haul of fossils. Dr. Lomax, said: “I was amazed by the find.”
A Young Scientist in the Making
He added: “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 they would like to join my team to study and describe this fossil, including naming it.”
The Legacy Continues
The new research is published in the journal Plos One. Ruby Reynolds’s remarkable find has shed light on the secrets of the Jurassic Ocean, making her a budding scientist and unveiling the mysteries of our prehistoric past.