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A British fossil hunter has found a previously unidentified sea dragon on the southern English coast.
Steve Etches unearthed the well-preserved ichthyosaur fossil in limestone on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. He thought the fossil was so unusual that he gave it to experts at the University of Portsmouth, southern England, to study.
Megan Jacobs, a researcher at the University of Portsmouth and a PhD student at Baylor University, Texas, who has spent years working on ichthyosaurs, identified it as a new genus and species.
Steve Etches pictured with a drawing of the newly identified Thalassodraco etchesi.(Carla Cook / Etches Collection)
Contact: Terry Goodrich, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-644-4155
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WACO, Texas (Dec. 9, 2020) – A mysterious small marine reptile dating from 150 million years ago has been identified as a new species that may have been capable of diving very deeply. The well-preserved specimen was found in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England.
The aquatic reptile has been determined to be part of the group known as ichthyosaurs, which were streamlined marine predators from the Late Jurassic period, according to paleontologist
Megan L. Jacobs, a Baylor University doctoral candidate in geosciences. She is co-author of a
New sea dragon species discovered by amateur fossil hunter off English coast cnnphilippines.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cnnphilippines.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.