Ancient Reptile Mystery Solved As Two Extinct Species Found To Be The Same

Artwork with ‘bait ball’ Ichthyosaur.

In the years that followed, many eminent scientists, including Sir Richard Owen (the man who coined the word dinosaur), studied ichthyosaur fossils collected from Dorset, Somerset, Yorkshire and other locations in England. Their studies and observations of Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius resulted in confusion with the species, with many skeletons identified on unreliable grounds.

Lomax said, “The early accounts of ichthyosaurs were based on very scrappy, often isolated, remains. This resulted in a very poor understanding of the differences between species and thus how to identify them. To complicate matters further, the original specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis is lost and was never illustrated.

Artwork with single ichthyosaur.

Credit: Robert Richardson

Similarly, the original specimen of I. intermedius is also lost, but an illustration does exist. This has caused a big headache for palaeontologists trying to understand the differences between the species”.

In the mid-1970s, palaeontologist, Dr Chris McGowan was the first to suggest that Ichthyosaurus communis and I. intermedius may represent the same species. He could not find reliable evidence to separate the two species. Subsequent studies argued for and against the separation of the species.

In this new study, the duo have reviewed all of the research for and against the separation of the two species. This is the most extensive scientific study ever published comparing the two. The duo confirm the species are the same and that features of Ichthyosaurus intermedius can be found in other ichthyosaur species, including I. communis.

Dean Lomax and Judy Massare examining ichthyosaurs at London Natural History Museum.

Credit: London Natural History Museum

In recent years, the duo have described three new species and have provided a reassessment of historical species. Their work has provided a far superior understanding of the species than has ever been produced.

The research has been published in Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.

 Contacts and sources:
Sayjal Mistry

Taylor & Francis