They would be one of the largest animals to have ever existed.
The fossils of three ichthyosaurs, huge prehistoric marine reptiles have been discovered in the Swiss Alps, including the largest tooth ever found from this animal, according to a study published Thursday in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
With an elongated body and a small head, ichthyosaurs could weigh up to 80 tons and measure more than 20 meters.
Appeared about 250 million years ago, some smaller, dolphin-like representatives survived until 90 million years ago.
But most died out 200 million years ago, especially those that evolved to become gigantic.
These would have rivaled our current large sperm whales, while remaining smaller than the largest living animal on Earth today, the blue whale (up to 30 meters long).
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Few fossils of this prehistoric giant have been discovered so far, which constitutes "a great mystery", according to Professor Martin Sander, lead author of this work published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The specimens in question were unearthed between 1976 and 1990, in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland, but have only recently been studied in detail.
A specimen of about twenty meters long
These fossils were found at an altitude of 2,800 m.
From an early ichthyosaur were found a series of ten rib fragments, accompanied by a vertebra, suggesting an animal about 20 meters long.
Or more or less the equivalent of the largest specimen ever discovered (21 meters), named Shonisaurus sikanniensis and found in Canada.
The second animal measured about 15 meters, according to the seven vertebrae examined.
But the highlight of the show is this tooth "enormous, even for an ichthyosaur: its root is 60 millimeters in diameter", detailed in a press release Martin Sander, from the University of Bonn.
The fossils of three ichthyosaurs, huge prehistoric marine reptiles, have been discovered in the Swiss Alps.
(Illustration) Wikimedia Commons
The specimen found in Canada apparently had no teeth.
Ichthyosaurs with and without teeth would have cohabited, according to the study.
The largest tooth discovered so far (and the only other for a giant ichthyosaur) measured 20 millimeters in diameter, from an animal almost 18 meters long.
Most of the crown of this new tooth is unfortunately missing.
The size of its host cannot therefore be deduced.
According to the researcher, “it is difficult to tell whether the tooth is from a large ichthyosaur with giant teeth, or from a giant ichthyosaur with standard-sized teeth.
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