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The fossil hunter was amazed. He was standing in an empty lake looking around. Suddenly, he spotted something strange. It was hard and pointy. It was poking out of the mud.

Soon, the mystery was solved. It was a giant fossilThe remains or shape of a prehistoric animal or plant preserved in rock. of an ancient sea monster.

The creature is called an ichthyosaurThe name combines the Greek words for fish and lizard, though in fact the creature is neither.. Its skeleton is 10m long. Its skull weighs one tonne. The discovery is important. This is the biggest skeleton ever found in the UK.

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Ichthyosaurs are known as sea dragons. This is because of their size and their sharp teeth. The first person to find one was Mary Anning. She was a woman whose hobby was looking for fossils on the beach.

PalaeontologistsPeople who study a prehistoric species. The branch of science is called palaeontology. are people who study animals and plants that lived many years ago. They have found some ichthyosaurs before, but never as big as this.

The skeleton was found in a dried out lake in RutlandEngland's smallest county. Today, it is over 30 miles from the coast, but 300 million years ago, it was covered in shallow ocean., a county in England. Today, it is a long way from any beach. But 200 million years ago, it was covered in ocean.

Yes! It is a great job. You can find out about things that were alive millions of years ago! And anyone can do it. All you need is a spade.

No. We should not only think about the past. It is much cooler to learn about the stars and maybe visit them one day!