Ichthyotitan

Ichthyotitan was enormous, scientists estimate it reached about 25 metres long, which is about 5 metres shorter than a 30 metre blue whale. It is likely the largest marine reptile ever discovered.42

No, Ichthyotitan was not a dinosaur. It was an ichthyosaur, a type of marine reptile that swam in the oceans at the same time as dinosaurs lived on land.5

Scientists are not certain, but because Ichthyotitan was a shastasaurid ichthyosaur, it probably ate fish and squid. Its large size suggests it was a top predator in its ocean.6

Ichthyotitan lived at the very end of the Triassic Period, about 205 to 201 million years ago. It died out in the mass extinction that ended the Triassic.64

Its fossils were found on the coast of Somerset, England, near the Severn Estuary. The first jaw bone was discovered by a father and his 11-year-old daughter in 2020.45

They compared its jaw bone (the surangular) to the same bone in other giant ichthyosaurs. The jaw is over 2 metres long, and scaling it up gives a body length of about 25 metres.26

Yes, Ichthyotitan was a marine reptile that lived in the ocean and swam using its flippers and tail. It was built like a fish and was a fast, powerful swimmer.6

No, Ichthyotitan was about 25 metres long, while the biggest blue whales can reach about 30 metres. So Ichthyotitan was almost as big, but not quite as large as the largest blue whales.5