An 11-year-old girl named Ruby Reynolds and her father Justin Reynolds discovered fragments of an enormous jawbone believed to belong to Ichthyotitan severnensis, the largest known marine reptile.
Experts at the University of Manchester, University of Bristol, and the University of Bonn confirmed that the fragments were part of an ichthyosaur jawbone.
Ichthyotitan severnensis is believed to be the last surviving member of the shastasaurida family and could have been up to 82 feet long.
Initial estimates suggest that Ichthyotitan severnensis could have been twice the length of a blue whale, making it one of the largest marine reptiles ever discovered.
The discovery was made in May 2020 during a fossil hunting trip on a beach in Blue Anchor, Somerset, England.
The discovery was published in the PLOS One journal in 2024.
An 11-year-old girl named Ruby Reynolds and her father Justin Reynolds made a remarkable discovery on a beach in Blue Anchor, Somerset, England. They found fragments of an enormous jawbone that is believed to belong to the largest known marine reptile, Ichthyotitan severnensis. This prehistoric creature lived during the Triassic period around 202 million years ago and could have been up to 82 feet long.
The discovery was made in May 2020 while the family was on a fossil hunting trip. The fragments of bone were taken to experts at the University of Manchester, University of Bristol, and the University of Bonn for analysis. These scientists confirmed that they were part of an ichthyosaur jawbone.
Ichthyotitan severnensis is believed to be the last surviving member of the shastasaurida family, which went extinct during the global mass extinction event at the end of the Triassic period. The discovery sheds light on this prehistoric giant's role in evolutionary history and ocean ecosystem it inhabited.
The researchers are still studying this fascinating find to learn more about Ichthyotitan severnensis, but their initial estimates suggest that it could have been twice the length of a blue whale. This would make it one of the largest marine reptiles ever discovered.
Ruby and Justin's discovery was published in the PLOS One journal in 2024. The researchers involved include Dean Lomax, Paul de la Salle, and Ruby and Justin Reynolds.
Further analysis is needed to confirm that the fragments belong specifically to Ichthyotitan severnensis and not another ichthyosaur species.
The exact length of Ichthyotitan severnensis is not confirmed and initial estimates suggest it could be twice the length of a blue whale, but this has not been definitively proven.
The discovery could shed light on the prehistoric giant's role in evolutionary history and ocean ecosystem it inhabited.
Ichthyosaurs first appeared about 250 million years ago and some evolved to have larger body sizes by 202 million years ago. Ichthyotitan severnensis is one of the largest marine reptiles by this time.
Further evidence is needed to confirm the exact size of Ichthyotitan severnensis, but histology studies suggest an adult may have been larger than a blue whale.
The discovery could shed light on the prehistoric giant's role in evolutionary history and ocean ecosystem it inhabited.
Ichthyotitan severnensis is suggested to be the largest marine reptile known to science, with estimates suggesting it could have been 82 feet long.
The newly discovered species is believed to be the last surviving member of the shastasaurida family, which went extinct during the global mass extinction event at the end of the Triassic period.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
The article contains an appeal to authority with the quotes from Marcello Perillo and Dean Lomax. However, no formal or informal fallacies were found in the text.
Marcello Perillo is a graduate student of evolutionary paleobiology at the University of Bonn in Germany.
Dean Lomax is a paleontologist at the University of Manchester and 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
An 11-year-old girl discovered fossils on a beach in Somerset, England.
The newly discovered species is believed to be the last surviving member of the shastasaurida family.
The fossils were identified by Dr Dean Lomax and his team, including co-authors Justin Reynolds and Ruby Reynolds.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
No formal fallacies found. However, there are some inflammatory rhetorical elements and an appeal to authority. The inflammatory rhetoric is seen in phrases like “probably represents the largest marine reptile formally described” and “the largest marine reptile that lived.” These are exaggerative and not reflective of a neutral reporting style. The appeal to authority is evident in phrases like “Dr Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist at the University of Bristol and co-author of the research” and “Dr Nick Fraser, a palaeontologist at National Museums Scotland.” These phrases rely on the credibility of experts rather than presenting evidence. Despite these issues, the article does not contain a significant number of fallacies to warrant a lower score.
. The fossils are thought to be from a type of ichthyosaur, a prehistoric marine reptile that lived in the time of dinosaurs.
. . .the newly discovered species is believed to have roamed the seas towards the end of the Triassic, about 202m years ago.
Dr Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist at the University of Bristol and co-author of the research,
