Scientists from the University of Bonn in Germany have discovered a 205millionyearold ichthyosaur in the Swiss Alps. According to the researchers, the animal was larger than a blue whale and lived in the PanTalassic Ocean around Pangea during the Late Triassic period.
The ichthyosaur, which exhibits both reptilian and fish characteristics, was originally identified when fossils were found in rocks at an elevation of more than 2,700 meters between the years 1976 and 1990. Despite the odd height, the site was once the bottom of a large lake, according to a new study published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
According to the British tabloid Daily Star, this animal species became extinct 90 million years ago, even before the collision of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
dr Martin Sandler of the University of Bonn said there could be more remains of “huge” sea creatures hiding beneath the glaciers.
Excavations to find an animal were carried out in rocks 2,700 meters high
Image: Publicity/Vertebrate Paleontology Journal
The discovery surpassed two other paleontological finds: a 21meterlong ichthyosaur from Canada called Shonisaurus sikanniensis, and a 25meterlong Jurassic “sea dragon” that roamed the British coast around the same time.
Sandler said the animal’s size was a selective advantage, and that only three groups of animals weighed 10 to 20 tons, and ichthyosaurs were among them. “There were only three groups of animals that weighed more than 10 to 20 tons: longnecked dinosaurs, whales, and the giant Triassic ichthyosaurs.
The animal’s tooth root alone is twice as wide as the previous record of another ichthyosaur, which was 15 meters long from nose to tail.
Because of the animal’s size, Martin said more should be known about her. “It is a great embarrassment for paleontology that we know so little about these giant ichthyosaurs, despite the extraordinary size of their fossils.”
In addition to size, ichthyosaurs made an important evolutionary leap in reproduction: instead of laying eggs, they began giving birth to live young. Because they looked like fish, they could reach speeds of up to 35.4 km/h.
Dr. Heinz Furrer, retired curator of the Paleontological Museum of the University of Zurich, celebrated the find. “It is the longest ichthyosaur in the world, with the thickest tooth found so far and the largest trunk vertebrae in Europe.”
In January of this year, another ichthyosaur fossil was found in the Midlands, UK. It was about 180 million years old and 10 meters long with a skull weighing several tons.