Jurassic crocodile fossil found at Rutland Water one year on from sea dragon discovery
A year on from an enormous ‘sea dragon’ being found in Rutland, jurassic fossils are still being discovered.
The fossilised remains of an ichthyosaur which lived about 180 million years ago were found in lagoon four at Rutland Water during a draining in August last year.
It is the most complete skeleton of its kind which has generated much interest from palaeontologists.
The team decided to return to Rutland Water last week to see what else could be found.
They carefully surveyed across the lagoon and found further icthyosaur vertebrae and a phalanx, part of a limb, from the initial find.
A particularly ‘fascinating discovery’ was part of a snout from a jurassic crocodile, believed to have been four to five metres long.
The details on the fossil show where the teeth would have been.
Joe Davis, conservation team leader at Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, said: “I think it’s amazing to imagine we are on a land that once had massive reptiles swimming around, living and dying here.
“It’s hard to even imagine 180 million years ago but now we know what was here.
“It’s incredible.”
The recent discoveries are not the first at the Anglian Water reservoir, with two incomplete and smaller ichthyosaurs found during the construction of Rutland Water in the 1970s.
Joe said that paleontologists may return in the future, but can only examine at certain times because of the water levels.
“It’s great as it really puts us on the map,” he added. “We hope that it will help to get more people interested in the natural environment as well as dinosaurs and ancient reptiles.”
The trust is currently part of a bid for £100,000 of National Lottery funding to clean the fossils and create a museum to house them.