190-Million-Year-Old Xiphodracon: New Ichthyosaur Species Discovered on Britain's Jurassic Coast

A 190-million-year-old 'sword dragon' ichthyosaur skeleton has been discovered on Britain's Jurassic Coast, representing a new species of prehistoric marine reptile.

Scientists have identified a skeleton found on Britain's Jurassic Coast as a new species of ichthyosaur, an ancient marine reptile that dominated prehistoric oceans. This remarkable discovery was announced Friday by researchers.

The dolphin-sized creature has been named Xiphodracon goldencapensis, translated as the "Sword Dragon of Dorset," referencing the English county where this nearly complete skeleton was unearthed.

According to the University of Manchester, this specimen represents "the only known example of its kind in existence and helps to fill an important gap in the evolutionary fossil record of ichthyosaurs."

The research team was led by Dean Lomax, an ichthyosaur specialist and honorary research fellow at the University of Manchester, who worked alongside two other paleontologists to analyze the fossil.

Though often confused with dinosaurs, ichthyosaurs were actually marine reptiles that spent their entire lives underwater.

Dating back to the Pliensbachian period approximately 190 million years ago, the sword dragon skeleton was originally discovered near Golden Cap in Dorset in 2001. However, detailed scientific analysis has only recently been completed.

The fossil features a distinctive skull with an exceptionally large eye socket and an elongated sword-like snout. Researchers estimate the creature would have measured about three meters in length and primarily fed on fish and squid.

The findings were published Friday in the scientific journal Papers in Palaeontology.

The remarkable skeleton is scheduled to be exhibited at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.