AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl found the first chunk of a giant, fossilised remain of a second gigantic jawbone measuring more than two metres on a beach at Blue Anchor.

Experts have identified the bones as belonging to the jaws of a new species of enormous ichthyosaur, a type of prehistoric marine reptile.

Estimates suggest the oceanic titan would have been more than 25 metres long.

Father and daughter team, Justin and Ruby Reynolds from Braunton, Devon, found the first pieces of the second jawbone in May 2020, whilst searching for fossils on the beach at Blue Anchor.

Ruby, then aged 11, found the first chunk of giant bone. Together, they searched the area and found additional pieces.

Realising they had discovered something significant, they contacted leading ichthyosaur expert, Dr Dean Lomax, an 1851 Research Fellow at the University of Bristol.

Thrilled by this discovery, Dr Lomax, who is also a palaeontologist at the University of Manchester, contacted Paul de la Salle, a seasoned fossil collector who had found the first giant jawbone in May 2016 from further along the coast at Lilstock.

Dr Dean Lomax said: “I was amazed by the find. In 2018, my team (including Paul de la Salle) studied and described Paul’s giant jawbone and we had hoped that one day another would come to light.

“This new specimen is more complete, better preserved, and shows that we now have two of these giant bones (called a surangular) that have a unique shape and structure. I became very excited, to say the least.”

Justin and Ruby, together with Paul, Dr Lomax, and several family members, visited the site to hunt for more pieces of this rare discovery. In time, the team found additional pieces of the same jaw which fit together perfectly, like a multimillion-year-old jigsaw.

When asked about her find and involvement with the study, Ruby said: “It was so cool to discover part of this gigantic ichthyosaur. I am very proud to have played a part in a scientific discovery like this.”

Justin commented: “When Ruby and I found the first two pieces we were very excited as we realised that this was something important and unusual.

“When I found the back part of the jaw, I was thrilled because that is one of the defining parts of Paul's earlier discovery.”

The last piece of bone was recovered in October 2022.

The bones are around 202 million years old, dating to the end of the Triassic Period in a time known as the Rhaetian.

During this time, the gigantic ichthyosaurs swam the seas while the dinosaurs walked on land.

It was the titans’ final chapter, however—as the story told in the rocks above these fossils record a cataclysm known as the Late Triassic global mass extinction event.

After this time, giant ichthyosaurs from the family known as Shastasauridae go extinct.

Today, these bones represent the very last of their kind. Ichthyotitan is not the world’s first giant ichthyosaur, but de la Salles’ and Reynolds’ discoveries are unique among those known to science.

These two bones appear roughly 13 million years after their latest geologic relatives, including Shonisaurus sikanniensis from British Columbia, Canada, and Himalayasaurus tibetensis from Tibet, China.

Commenting on the research, Dr Lomax added: “I was highly impressed that Ruby and Justin correctly identified the discovery as another enormous jawbone from an ichthyosaur.

“They recognised that it matched the one we described in 2018. I asked them whether they would like to join my team to study and describe this fossil, including naming it.

“They jumped at the chance. For Ruby, especially, she is now a published scientist who not only found but also helped to name a type of gigantic prehistoric reptile.

“There are probably not many 15-year-olds who can say that. A Mary Anning in the making, perhaps.”

Ruby, Justin, and Paul’s discoveries will soon go on display at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.

Dr Lomax explained: “This research has been ongoing for almost eight years.

“It is quite remarkable to think that gigantic, blue whale-sized ichthyosaurs were swimming in the oceans around what was the UK during the Triassic Period.

“These jawbones provide tantalising evidence that perhaps one day a complete skull or skeleton of one of these giants might be found. You never know.”