Page 6 - Nigel Larkin News Today

The creature is an ichthyosaur, a large marine reptile. The skeleton measures around 32 feet long.

The creature is an ichthyosaur, a large marine reptile. The skeleton measures around 32 feet long.

An astonishing fossil of an extinct sea dragon discovered by a wetland conservationist one day at work has been hailed as the largest and most complete fossil of its kind ever found in Britain.

The fossilized remains of the marine reptile, often referred to as a “sea dragon” and believed to be 180 million years old, were discovered at a nature reserve.

The giant ichthyosaur was found at the bottom of Rutland Water, in the Midlands, last February and experts spent 14 days excavating the giant skeleton before removing it in August last year.

The creature, dubbed the Rutland Sea Dragon, is the very first of its species - Temnodontosaurus trigonodon - to ever be found in the United Kingdom.

The ichthyosaur is around 180 million years old with a skeleton measuring around 10 metres in length and a skull weighing approximately one tonne.

The ichthyosaur is around 180 million years old with a skeleton measuring around 10 metres in length and a skull weighing approximately one tonne.

The ichthyosaur is around 180 million years old with a skeleton measuring around 10 metres in length and a skull weighing approximately one tonne.

The ichthyosaur is around 180 million years old with a skeleton measuring around 10 metres in length and a skull weighing approximately one tonne.