Ichthyosaurus

An Ichthyosaur was discovered several counties north of Highbury in the Midands in February 2021. It was not the younger, smaller one illustrated here, but one which had been 10 metres long, larger than a London bus. They could grow to 25 metres.

Joe Thomas of Leicestershire and Rutland Conservation found, during a routine maintenance draining of the reservoir at Rutland Water, the fossilized remains of a large creature. The investigating team identified it as an Ichthyosaur or Sea Dragon – a large seagoing reptile from the Dinosaur era thought to have been extinct for 180 million years.

As our map shows, sea and land masses have greatly changed over time. The Ichthyosaur could be found from China to the UK, which was at that time covered with warm shallow seas.

BBC     Digging for Britain      11 January 2022