An amateur fossil hunter has unearthed a new type of prehistoric “sea dragon” on the beach of the UK's Dorset Coast. The new 2m-long ichthyosaur is named “Etches sea dragon”,after fossil collector Dr. Steve Etches, who found it buried head-first. Ichthyosaurs are called sea dragons for their usually very large teeth and eyes. He thought its teeth were unusual,so he passed it on to experts at the University of Portsmouth to identify(鉴定).There,a Masters student, Megan Jacobs, who has spent several years working on ichthyosaurs, identified it as a new species, which lived 150 million years ago.
The find is the UK's fifth known ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic periods,and by far the smallest so far.
The fossil was found near Kimmeridge Bay—part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. When it died, the seafloor would have been very soft mud, allowing the front half of the animal to sink into the mud, before other animals came along and ate the tail end.Being buried in a bed of soft mud meant it was preserved in exceptional condition and even some of its soft tissues were preserved.
Megan said, “Fossils of Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs in the UK are extremely rare. I did some research,comparing it with those known from other Late Jurassic fossils found around the world. It was very exciting that I didn’t find a match. Steve's extraordinary collection contains many new and exciting animals, and it was a real honor to have the chance to describe this ichthyosaur.”
Professor David Martill,who leads the palaeontology(古生物学)research,said, “Steve is an exceptional fossil collector and although he is sometimes referred to as an amateur collector, he has done so much for palaeontology that he has been awarded an MBE, Member of the British Empire, and is truly a professional.”He added, “If it were not for collectors like Steve,scientists would have very few specimens(样本)to work on. ’’
【小题1】What did Steve Etches do after finding the ichthyosaur?| A．He spent years studying it. | B．He sent it to a university. |
| C．He named it after himself. | D．He announced it’s a new species. |
| A．The largest sea dragons once lived there. |
| B．Fossils found there usually have soft tissues. |
| C．It is very popular among fossil hunters worldwide. |
| D．The seafloor there was once covered with soft mud. |
| A．Confirming the uniqueness of the fossil. |
| B．Admiring Steve’s extraordinary collections. |
| C．Finding a matching name for the new ichthyosaur. |
| D．Seeing other Late Jurassic’s fossils around the world. |
| A．He had a good taste of collections. |
| B．He contributed a lot to palaeontology. |
| C．He set an example for other amateur collectors. |
| D．He did better than professional palaeontologists. |
