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Scientists describe two new ichthyosaur specimens

"The coolest thing about this specimen is that the pelvis is preserved -- the pelvis of this species was unknown," said paleontologist Dean Lomax.

By Brooks Hays
A new specimen of the species Ichthyosaurus conybeari is the first to feature intact pelvis bones. Photo by the University of Manchester
A new specimen of the species Ichthyosaurus conybeari is the first to feature intact pelvis bones. Photo by the University of Manchester

MANCHESTER, England, April 26 (UPI) -- Two new ichthyosaur specimens have been described in a study published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. One of the specimens offered researchers the first look at the pelvis bones of the rare marine reptile species.

Both fossils belong to the species Ichthyosaurus conybeari, but their identities were only recently confirmed. Their discovery compelled a re-examination of the species.

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The most complete of the two new fossils -- the one with the intact pelvis bones -- was first unearthed from Jurassic deposits along the coast of Somerset, England. For most of the last 20 years, it has been displayed in the National Museum of Wales, in Cardiff. While there, it was incorrectly classified, believed to be a juvenile example of a different ichthyosaur species. {link: The latest study: "http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2016.1163264?journalCode=ujvp20" target="_blank"} offers a correction and the first thorough examination of the fossil specimen.

Ichthyosaurs are dolphin-like dinosaur relatives that thrived in the ocean waters during the later Triassic and early Jurassic periods.

"Palaeontologists make discoveries in the field, the laboratory and behind the scenes in museums, but this came as a surprise as it was on display and had been missed," study author Dean Lomax, a dinosaur expert at the University of Manchester, said in a news release. "The coolest thing about this specimen is that the pelvis is preserved -- the pelvis of this species was unknown, and is completely different to any other species of ichthyosaurus."

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By doubling the number of specimens, from two to four, researchers were able to expand the species' geological range from 195 to 189 million years -- "the longest duration of any species of the genus," Lomax said.

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