British girl finds fossil of massive ancient marine reptile in Somerset, England. Jawbone suggests creature rivaling blue whales, named Ichthyotitan severnensis.
A new examination of the remnants declared that it was partly a phony and urged caution in how the fossil is used in future research.
The small whale, named for a pharaoh, provided big insights for scientists about the evolution of whales.
Many such fossilized cocoons have been found, some going back 100 million years in the fossil record, yet none so far have been found with the preserved body of its occupant still inside.
The creature inhabited fresh waters in what is now known as the Sydney Basin during the Triassic period. It likely fed on ancient fish like Cleithrolepis but little else is known.
These fossils are considered to be especially valuable as it is rare for jellyfish to fossilize because they are made up of 95% water.
Whales evolved a bit more than 50 million years ago from hoofed, land-dwelling mammals as big as a medium-sized dog.
Keep an eye out for volcanic ash (tuf) and even some fossils that froze in the ancient marine rocks. The fossils provide a glimpse of sea life in the long book of life on Earth.
"Dinosaurs nearly always outsized their mammal contemporaries, so traditional belief has been that their interactions were unilateral - the bigger dinosaurs always ate the smaller mammals."
The pterosaur was nicknamed after the king of rock and roll due to a giant pompadour-like bony crest on its skull.
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