Scientists have reclassified a prehistoric marine reptile discovered in 1935 as one of the last thalattosaurs, not an early choristodere, after new findings and detailed imaging.
The true identity of a local prehistoric marine reptile has been uncovered after experts determined that some of its remains actually belonged to fish.
Researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of Southampton have established that bones found in
“Previously Pachystropheus had been identified as the first of the choristoderes, another group of crocodile-like marine reptiles, and it was treated as very important because it was the oldest,” said Professor Mike Benton, one of Jacob’s supervisors. “Jacob was able to show that some of the bones actually came from fishes, and the others that really belonged to Pachystropheus show it was actually a small thalattosaur. So, from being regarded as the first of the choristoderes, it’s now identified as the last of the thalattosaurs.”
Discovery and Reconstruction Efforts
Evangelos R. Matheau-Raven of Peterborough discovered Annie while on holiday in Somerset in 2018, and he then painstakingly pieced it back together and cleaned it to expose the bones in his spare time. He said: “I spotted parts of a fallen rock on the beach about 10m from the base of the cliff. I was thrilled as their exposed surfaces showed some fossil bones. It wasn’t until a few days later that I could see that the pieces collected two days apart fitted together. After a few weeks of preparation, we could see that something special was emerging. The specimen took me some 350 hours and about a year to complete.”
“Pachystropheus probably lived the life of a modern-day otter, eating small fish or DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2350408