The largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever to be found in the UK!
The excavation and beyond by Darren Withers.
Note: all the photos are subject to copyright and have been taken by members of the team.
A lot of time and effort is required for all aspects of palaeontological fieldwork. I’ve given 30 plus years of my time to this subject. It is a constant learning curve when your faced with the initial find and thought process needed on how your contribution to such excavations like the Rutland Sea Dragon will benefit the team. Well on February the 1st 2021 it was time once again to put those skills to practice prompted by an email from Dr, Mark Evans which read as follows:
Hi Darren, I don’t know if you have heard anything, but there is significant recent discovery in Rutland that I have been asked to advise on, and we might need to excavate in the next couple of weeks. Would you be able to help, being reasonably local? Cheers, Mark.
Photo taken by Mark Evans on a return to the site on the 5th of February 2021. As a part of the vertebral column starts to appear form the Rutland Sea Dragon.© Mark Evans.
I sent back a speedy email reply to Mark especially as memories came flooding back from previous excavations I have taking part in. So, to be asked to take part in another excavation to recover an ichthyosaur, let’s just say I didn’t give it a second thought. It turned out, Dr Dean Lomax, who orchestrated the mini one-day dig and the excavation of the ichthyosaur in the summer of 2021, had been in discussions with Dr Evans regarding the site visit and both had kindly said that I would be instrumental in such an excavation, based on my previous experience.
In 2016 I had discovered a marine reptile known as a Plesiosaur on a organised field trip to a quarry in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, UK. Over a four day excavation to recover the specimen and many months of conservation work. The Plesiosaur ( picture 1 )is now on permanent display at the Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery as part of their world renowned Jurassic marine reptile gallery. Another most memorable year was when in 2018 as I had discovered another marine reptile known as a Pliosaur ( picture 2 ) from a quarry in South Ferriby, North Lincolnshire, UK. This resulted in another four day excavation to rescue the specimen to which I donated to the North Lincolnshire Museum. I must add that all the elements of the Pliosaur were expertly prepared by Nigel Larkin full report below.
Picture 1 : Darren Withers in the geology laboratory at the Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery with the plesiosaur discovered in 2016. © Darren Withers.
Picture 2 : Excavating the Scunthorpe Pliosaur discovered I discovered in 2018 (left to right: Darren Withers, Richard Forrest, David Savory and Mick Beeson). © Darren Withers.
Dean Lomax and Nigel Larkin led the excavation of the Rutland Ichthyosaur.
Dr Dean is a globally recognised expert in Ichthyosaur research who has a lot of excavation experience. Dean with help from Nigel formulated the excavation plan, applied for funding, contacted relevant people who could be of assistance, put together the team, liaised with Anglian Water and more. And Dean in particular orchestrated public engagement plans for filming the excavation as part of a TV show and the PR.
Nigel is a freelance natural history conservator and curator specialising in palaeontology, geology, osteology (skeletons and bones), mounting specimens, making replicas, project logistics and infrared thermal imaging for collections management.
For a more detailed read on this incredible discovery you can download a full text PDF at the link below by N.R.Larkin, D.R. Lomax, M. Evans, et al., Excavating the ‘Rutland Sea Dragon’: The largest ichthyosaur skeleton ever found in the UK (Whitby M…, Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.09.003
‘I’ve been a volunteer at the Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery since 2010 helping to look after the geology collections. Darren Withers ©
The picture above shows me plaster jacketing a large Oxford Clay block holding some of the fossil remains from a Leedsichthys an extinct genus of pachycormid fish that lived in the oceans of the Middle to Late Jurassic. Palaeontological conservator and fossil preparator Nigel Larkin were asked to help with the initial stages of the project, specifically to train myself and other volunteers in conservation techniques full report link here. Delivering training in palaeontological preparation and conservation techniques for a week at Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery.
Also here is link titled ‘The Big Fish’ telling you all about its discovery.
I now also work as a volunteer at the Rutland County Museum. Helping to look after their geology collections, which involves cataloguing fossil specimens where needed and to check their condition. (left to right: Darren Withers, Richard Forrest, Mark Evans, and Nigel Larkin) © Nigel Larkin.
So, this brings us back nicely to the Rutland Sea Dragon. It’s no secret as the latest news filters through about the UK’s largest complete ichthyosaur skeleton and how it will form a major part of plans to transform the Rutland County Museum.
