It’s no Loch Ness monster, but a team at the University of Edinburgh has uncovered a new species of prehistoric sea monster that populated European oceans over 163 million years ago.
The ancient reptile - Ieldraan melkshamensis - was nicknamed the ‘Melksham Monster’ after the town in England where it was unearthed in 1875, and has been stored in the Natural History Museum archives ever since.
But now a restudying of the (heavily damaged) fossils has raised questions about our understanding of early aquatic reptiles, and when exactly they first evolved.
University of Edinburgh
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