'Fake fin' discovery reveals new ichthyosaur species

October 10, 2017

An ichthyosaur first discovered in the 1970s but then dismissed and consigned to museum storerooms across the country has been re-examined and found to be a new species.

In 1979, after inspecting several ichthyosaurs from the UK, palaeontologist Dr Robert Appleby announced a new type of ichthyosaur called Protoichthyosaurus. He also named two species, P. prostaxalis and P. prosostealis. Other scientists, however, dismissed the discovery of Protoichthyosaurus and suggested that it was identical with Ichthyosaurus, a very common UK ichthyosaur.

Now a detailed study led by palaeontologists Dean Lomax (The University of Manchester) and Professor Judy Massare (State University of New York), has re-examined and compared Protoichthyosaurus and Ichthyosaurus. It found major differences in the number of bones in the front fin, or forefin, of both species. This fundamental difference probably reflects the way both species used them to manoeuvre whilst swimming. Differences were also found in the skulls. But it was another discovery about the fins that also got the team's attention.

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UK researcher discovers new 200 million year old marine reptile

JUNE 14, 2016

by Chuck Bednar

A fossil previously discovered in a quarry at Nottinghamshire, England has been identified as a new species of ichthyosaur – an extinct marine reptile which dates back some 200 million years to the earliest part of the Jurassic Period – according to new research published Monday.

The fossil was identified by Dean Lomax, a paleontologist at the University of Manchester who explained that the creature is one of just a few ichthyosaur species dating back to that era, which makes the discovery of this dolphin-like creature very significant to the scientific community.

It also marks the first time that a species this ancient has been located in the UK in a place other than Dorset and Somerset, he noted. Lomax examined the specimen while visiting the New Walk Museum in Leicester, which acquired the partially-complete skeleton of the creature in 1951.

“When I first saw this specimen, I knew it was unusual,” he said in a statement. “It displays features in the bones – especially in the coracoid (part of the pectoral girdle) – that I had not seen before in Jurassic ichthyosaurs anywhere in the world. The specimen had never been published, so this rather unusual individual had been awaiting detailed examination.”

UK’s first Early Jurassic ichthyosaur specimen in 30 years

The creature was represented by a skull, pectoral bones, pelvic bones, limbs, ribs, and vertebrae, the university said. While relatively complete, the remains were described as “disorderly,” as it appeared as though the carcass had settled into the seabed prior to becoming fossilized.

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Secret of extinct British marine reptile uncovered

The fossil had been in the collections of Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery for more than 30 years until Dean Lomax (25) palaeontologist and Honorary Scientist at The University of Manchester, uncovered its hidden secrets.

Dean first examined the fossil in 2008 when he noticed several abnormalities in the bone structure which made him think he had something previously unidentified. Working with Professor Judy Massare of Brockport College, New York, he spent over five years travelling the world to check his findings and a paper explaining the discovery is published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Dean said: "After examining the specimen extensively, both Professor Massare and I identified several unusual features of the limb bones (humerus and femur) that were completely different to any other ichthyosaur known. That became very exciting. After examining perhaps over a thousand specimens we found four others with the same features as the Doncaster fossil."

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7ft ichthyosaur fossil found on beach near Penarth

19 December 2014 Last updated at 09:27

An amateur fossil hunter has unearthed a 7ft skeleton of a carnivorous marine reptile on a beach in south Wales.

Jonathan Bow, 34, discovered the ichthyosaur while walking the shoreline in the Penarth area.

A palaeontologist at the National Museum Wales said the discovery is important as it appears to be complete.

"Something this large and complete is a once in a lifetime find," said Mr Bow, a computer programmer in Swansea.

Other fossils from the Jurassic period have been unearthed in the area, dating back 200 million years.

He said anyone walking the dog on the beach could have found it, adding that an inch-long piece of rock took his eye after being exposed on a changing tide in September.

It took Mr Bow and his brother a day to expose the fossil in about 60kg (132lb) of stone.

Jonathan Bow described the fossil as a 'whopper'

But he explained that the "labour intensive" work only began after it was taken away from the beach in three sections.

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Ichthyosaur fossil at Charmouth narrowly misses storm destruction

A near-complete ichthyosaur skeleton discovered on the Dorset coast after Christmas storms was hours away from destruction, fossil hunters have said.

Storms uncovered the 1.5m (5ft) fossil at the base of Black Ven near Charmouth on Boxing Day.

The giant marine reptile fossil was painstakingly removed over eight hours, shortly before another storm was due.

Professional fossil hunter Paul Crossley, who helped excavate it, said it was "a beautiful find".

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Ancient Ichthyosaur Mother Did Not Explode, Scientists Say

It is unlikely that the body of a mother ichthyosaur exploded, say researchers who offer another explanation for the scattered remains of embryos found around her in rock that was once deep underwater.

Rather, the scattering of the embryos was probably caused by minor sea currents after the expectant mother died and her body decayed some 182 million years ago, the researchers propose.

If this scenario sounds confusing, it is important to know that ichthyosaurs, extinct marine reptiles that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs, did not lay eggs but rather carried their young in their bodies until they gave birth. Ichthyosaurs resembled fish but, unlike most fish, breathed air through lungs.

The nearly intact skeleton of the female ichthyosaur in question was found in Holzmaden, Germany. But the remains of most of the approximately 10 embryos were scattered far outside her body it. Other fossilized ichthyosaur remains have been found in similarly strange arrangements, with skeletons usually complete but jumbled to some degree.

Read on:  http://www.livescience.com/19344-exploding-ichthyosaur-fossil-embryos.html

German marine reptile find rewrites fossil record

German experts have found a new species of prehistoric marine giant from a time when most of that family of reptiles were thought to have died out.

The rare ichthyosaur find from the Braunschweig area, northern Germany, is 130 million years old, dating from the Lower Cretaceous era.

Most ichthyosaur fossils date from the Jurassic era, millions of years before.

The Braunschweig fossil revelations were reported in the science journal Plos One on Tuesday.

The new type of ichthyosaur, discovered during roadworks in 2005, has been called Acamptonectes densus - "Stiff Swimmer".

The neck vertebrae were so tightly packed that "it couldn't move its neck, so it must have shot through the water like a dart", said palaeontologist Ulrich Joger of the Braunschweig Natural History Museum.

"It's a spectacular find. It raises new questions about the [Jurassic] extinction theory," he said.

The specimen is similar to the Speeton Clay ichthyosaur found in the north of England in 1958.

The experts say the predator fed on fish and squid and looked like a dolphin, though the species are not related.

The main dinosaur extinction event was at the end of the Cretaceous, about 65 million years ago. It is widely believed a meteorite impact caused it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16432364