The remains of a giant sea dragon, which terrorised marine life 180m ago, have been found next to England's largest reservoir.
The largest animal ever found in Britain, with a skull the size of a piano and weighing one ton, was discovered at the nature reserve.
A large dolphin-like aquatic reptile was spotted by a team leader for the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust during a routine draining of a lagoon island in February last year.
The skeleton of a reptile was found at the water. Matthew Power is the photographer.
The discovery of a creature that was once swimming in seas above us is a career highlight for Davis.
An expert team of palaeontologists excavated the first specimen of its kind in Britain last year.
Ichthyosaurs were a group of more than 100 species of marine reptile that first appeared about 250m ago. They were similar to dolphins in their body and jaw size, and ranged in length from one to 25 metres.
The skull and skeleton were excavated by Dr Dean Lomax and specialist palaeontological conservators in partnership with the owners of the water and the county council.
The first scientific dating back to Mary Anning's discoveries along the Jurassic Coast took place here in Britain.
The largest skeleton ever found in the UK is from the Rutland Ichthyosaur. It is one of the greatest finds in British history.
It is a very significant discovery both nationally and internationally, but also of huge importance to the people of Rutland and the surrounding area, said Dr Mark Evans.
The sea dragon can be seen in the county, but Anglian Water wants heritage funding to keep it there. The excavation will be shown on Digging for Britain.
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