Scientists have identified possibly the largest marine reptile ever to swim in the sea - a creature longer than two buses joined together.
That creature lived about 202 million years ago together with the dinosaurs.
His fossilized jawbone was found in 2016 by a fossil hunter on a beach in Somerset, UK.
In 2020, father and daughter found another similar jawbone.
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Experts now claim that the fossils are of two giant ichthyosaur reptiles, which could have been 25 meters long.
It's bigger than the giant ploiosaurus whose the skull was found embedded in the cliffs of Dorset and appeared in David Attenborough's documentary The Giant Sea Monster.
"Judging by the size of the jawbones - one is over a meter long and the other two meters - we can calculate that the whole animal was about 25 meters long, about the length of a blue whale," according to Dr Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist from the University of Bristol. who wrote a scientific study published Wednesday.
But he says more evidence, such as a complete skull and skeleton, is needed to confirm the exact size of the creature because only a few fragments have been found so far.
The giant ichthyosaur disappeared in the mass extinction, and the ichthyosaurs that lived after never reached that enormous size, he says.
The first glimpse of this creature came in 2016 when fossil hunter Paul de la Salle was searching the beaches of Somerset.
He has been collecting fossils for 25 years after being inspired by the famous fossilist Stephen Ecchis.
Beachcombing with his wife Carol, he saw what turned out to be the catch of his life - the first known jawbone of this giant marine reptile.
When he spoke to Dean Lomax, they suspected they might be on the trail of a major discovery.
They published their findings in 2018.
But they wanted more evidence to understand exactly how big the creature was.
"We've been keeping our fingers crossed for more discoveries," says Dean.
In 2020, father and daughter Justin and Ruby Reynolds discovered what Dean had been wishing for, 10 kilometers down the coast in Blue Encore.
“I was extremely impressed - really, really excited. I knew at that moment that we had another huge jawbone from one of those massive ichthyosaurs just like Polo's," says Dean.
Paul rushed to the beach and helped them dig further.
"I was digging in thick mud. After about an hour, my shovel hit something solid - and we pulled out a perfectly preserved bone," he says.
The team, with family members, continued to search for fragments of the second jawbone - the last piece was found in 2022.
This discovery gave them more evidence to estimate the creature's size.
They now concluded that the huge animal was a new species of ichthyosaur, which they named Ichthyotitan severnensis, or the giant Severna fish lizard.
Dean co-authored the latest scientific study with Ruby Reynolds—one day, he says, the specimen she discovered could be named Ruby.
The specimen found by Paul sat in his garage for three years while the team analyzed it.
It will soon be exhibited at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
"I'll be a little sad to have to say goodbye to him. I met him and studied him in great detail.
"But it's also a great relief, because I won't have to worry about him as much anymore," says Paul.
Dean says the discovery highlights the importance of amateur fossil collectors.
"Families and various other people can make fantastic discoveries. You don't have to be a world expert.
"As long as you have the necessary patience and a keen eye, you can make great discoveries," he says.
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