Annopol discovery reveals rare Cretaceous ichthyosaur fossil

Researchers have identified an ichthyosaur specimen discovered in Annopol, Poland. The fossil, found in a former phosphate mine, belongs to the Platypterygiinae subfamily, a group of marine predators.

Led by Dr. Daniel Toborowski from the University of Warsaw, alongside scientists from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University and the Beskid Speleoclub, the study describes the specimen as one of the youngest known evidences of ichthyosaurs, which went extinct approximately 93 million years ago. The adult specimen is estimated to have reached lengths of about seven meters and weighed between 3 and 5 tons, making it comparable in size to an orca.