A remarkable new species of ichthyosaur, dubbed Xiphodracon goldencapensis, or the “sword dragon of Dorset,” has been identified from a nearly complete fossil found along the UK’s Jurassic Coast. This dolphin-sized marine reptile, which lived around 185 million years ago during the Early Jurassic Pliensbachian period, offers crucial insights into a little-understood phase in ichthyosaur evolution and sheds light on the ecological dynamics of ancient oceans. According to a study published in Papers in Palaeontology, the discovery of this long and narrow‐snouted ichthyosaur helps illuminate a complex faunal turnover during an undersampled interval of the Early Jurassic, filling an important gap in the fossil record. The fossil was first discovered in 2001 by prolific fossil hunter Chris

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