• Sword Dragon fossil rewrites early Jurassic ichthyosaur evolution. • Complete skeleton discovered along UK’s Jurassic Coast, named Xiphodracon goldencapensis. • Species nicknamed “Sword Dragon of Dorset” due to distinctive rostrum. • Fossil fills major gap in ichthyosaur fossil record. • Findings provide new insights into marine reptile diversification.

Article Summaries:

  • A nearly complete three‑meter ichthyosaur skeleton, nicknamed the “Sword Dragon of Dorset,” was uncovered on the UK’s Jurassic Coast in 2001 and described in 2026 by a team led by Dr. Dean Lomax of the University of Manchester. The specimen, named Xiphodracon goldencapensis, is the first new Early Jurassic ichthyosaur genus from the region in over a century and the most complete Pliensbachian (193-184 Ma) reptile ever found. Its elongated, sword‑shaped snout and preserved gut contents provide new evidence that a major faunal turnover-extinctions of some families and emergence of others-occurred earlier than previously thought.

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