A new species of ancient marine reptile has been identified from exceptionally well-preserved fossilised remains unearthed in the UK. The rare fossil belongs to an ichthyosaur group that once dominated the ancient oceans and lived alongside dinosaurs.

The dolphin-sized marine creature has been named Xiphodracon goldencapensis, or the “Sword Dragon of Dorset”. This ichthyosaur lived about 184 million years ago (early Jurassic), an era from which its fossils are exceptionally rare. The near-complete skeleton preserved in a 3D state is the only known example of its kind. Unearthed in 2001 from the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada, soon acquired the skeleton. Although it joined the museum’s extensive ichthyosaur collection, it remained unstudied until this recent research, whose findings were published on October 10.