An extinct prehistoric reptile predator known as a "sea dragon" or a “ichthyosaur” has been found in the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, a nature reserve in England.

Scientists explained that the dinosaurs like the one found are called sea dragons because of their very large teeth and eyes . The fossil is also the first of its species to be found in the United Kingdom. It is well preserved and the largest ever discovered at 32 feet long, with a 6-foot skull and weighing about a ton.

“It is the biggest and most complete skeleton of its kind found to date in the UK and is also thought to be the first ichthyosaur of its species (called Temnodontosaurus trigonodon) found in the country,” Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust said in a release on Monday.

The nature reserve turned “Jurassic” when Joe Davis, the Rutland Water Conservation Team Leader, discovered the fossil while he was doing a routine draining of the lagoon in February 2021. He saw a “clay pipe” sticking out of the ground, which he later realized led to a large spine and jaw.

“The find has been absolutely fascinating and a real career highlight, it’s great to learn so much from the discovery and to think that this amazing creature was once swimming in seas above us, and now once again Rutland Water is a haven for wetland wildlife albeit on a smaller scale,” Davis said in the release.

During the Jurassic period, the area where the fossil was found would have been a warm tropical sea, where it was believed the thrive. Other ichthyosaurs that have been found in England were in a different area and were only about 5-10 feet in size.

This large dinosaur reptile would have been at “the top of the food chain” during its life time and a “ ultimate apex predator, perhaps one of the biggest animals in the sea worldwide,” explained Dean Lomax, a paleontologist who led the excavation. “It’s an interesting way of looking at the historic evolution of ichthyosaurs."

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