Scotland: Jurassic sea monster discovered

(Baonghean) - On Tuesday, January 14, a group of scientists from the UK, Belgium and China announced that four fossils found in 1959 on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, were the back, tail, fins and teeth of an animal never known on Earth from the Jurassic period. This species was identified as a new type of ichthyosaur belonging to the marine reptile order that appeared 250 million years ago and disappeared 90 million years ago.

On Tuesday, the scientists' research was published in the Scottish Journal of Geology. Before that, the monster's skeleton had been quietly lying in a cabinet at the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow. For Scotland, this discovery is very meaningful. Because until now, there has been no evidence to prove the existence of ancient marine vertebrates in Scotland. Meanwhile, in England, people found a fossil specimen more than a century ago.

Image of Dearcmhara Shawcrossi restored by the University of Edinburgh. Photo: Todd Marshall

The animal has been named Dearcmhara Shawcrossi, with “Dearcmhara” meaning Gaelic sea lizard and “Shawcrossi” being the name of the fossil’s discoverer, Brian Shawcross. The discovery is not only significant for Scotland, but also a valuable discovery for the study of prehistoric animals.

In the article, Stephen Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh asserts that this is a completely new species. The article describes Dearcmhara Shawcrossi as having all four fins with strong upper fins, a distinct triangular frame, and especially its fin skeleton is quite unique. Brusatte believes that the structure of the fins reminds people of a muscular “arm” that allows this marine reptile to swim faster, however, all of this is just an initial guess. In ancient times, with such a structure, it seems that this half-crocodile, half-dolphin animal specialized in hunting fish and small reptiles in the warm seas of Scotland.

Archaeologists have particularly emphasized the importance of this historical discovery. Stephen Brusatte explains, “In the early Jurassic, reptiles were small and simple in size, not as large and complex as in the late Jurassic. However, it is still not known when reptiles began their transformation.” Therefore, the discovery of the fossil Dearcmhara Shawcrossi may provide some answers to the above question. According to scientists, the size of Dearcmhara Shawcrossi was relatively small (4.2 m) and based on the evolutionary process of this species, it can be concluded that the transformation of reptiles began 170 million years ago.

Chu Thanh

(According to LeMonde 13/1)