That could mean it was diving deep down, where there was no light, or it may have been nocturnal." It also has incredibly large eyes, which means it could see well in low light. "The extremely deep rib cage may have allowed for larger lungs for holding their breath for extended periods, or it may mean that the internal organs weren't crushed under the pressure. One idea is that it could be a deep diving species, like sperm whales," Jacobs said. "This animal was obviously doing something different compared to other ichthyosaurs. "There are a number of things that make this animal special." "Now that the new sea dragon has been officially named, it's time to investigate its biology," said study co-author David Martill, Ph.D., professor of paleontology at the University of Portsmouth in Portsmouth, United Kingdom. Jacobs named it Thalassodraco etchesi, meaning "Etches sea dragon" after Etches. The specimen since has been housed in The Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in Kimmeridge, Dorset. He found it encased in a slab that would originally have been buried 300 feet deep in a limestone seafloor layer. The specimen, estimated to have been about 6 feet long, was discovered in 2009 by fossil collector Steve Etches MBE after a cliff crumbled along the seaside. It was very exciting to not be able to find a match." We knew it was new almost instantly, but it took about a year to make thorough comparisons with all other Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs to make certain our instincts were correct. "New Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the United Kingdom are extremely rare, as these creatures have been studied for 200 years. "This ichthyosaur has several differences that makes it unique enough to be its own genus and species," Jacobs said. Jacobs, a Baylor University doctoral candidate in geosciences and co-author of a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. 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. The well-preserved specimen was found in a Late Jurassic deep marine deposit along the English Channel coastline in Dorset, England. Image: illustration of Thalassodraco etchesi view moreĪ 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.
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