The first Danish ichthyosaur fossil has been found in Thy
The discovery has given researchers new knowledge about the distribution of ichthyosaurs.
The fossilized vertebra is the first known ichthyosaur fossil found in Denmark. (Photo: © Natural History Museum of Denmark)
By Emma Klitnæs ([email protected]) 30 minutes ago
At Lodbjerg Klint in Thy, the first Danish ichthyosaur fossil has been found in a loose boulder.
The Natural History Museum of Denmark writes this in a press release and adds that the discovery adds new knowledge to Scandinavia's fossil history.
It shows that ancient ichthyosaurs were also present in the southern part of Scandinavia. Previous Scandinavian finds of ichthyosaurs come from arctic Norway.
- Although we have only found one vertebra, we can identify it as an ichthyosaur. The discovery thus gives us new knowledge about the occurrence of ichthyosaurs in the region and is an important contribution to our understanding of ancient marine life, says Laura Cotton, who is an associate professor and curator for Danekræ at the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
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Origin unknown
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The researchers believe that the Danish fossil may have been transported to the west coast of Jutland by Ice Age glaciers, but the precise origin of the boulder found at Lodbjerg Klint is unknown.
The researchers' assessment is based on the bone's appearance, the stone's composition, and the area's geological history.
- To find out where the boulder might come from, we have, among other things, compared it with other boulders in the museum's collections that were transported here during the Ice Age, says Laura Cotton.
Ichthyosaurs are an extinct group of marine reptiles that lived in the world's oceans from about 250 million years ago until just over 100 million years ago. They descended from land-dwelling reptiles but evolved into efficient swimmers with a body shape that, in some species, resembled modern tuna and dolphins.
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