A giant Ichtysaurus to arrive

Drawing by Anatol Heintz.

This summer, an approx. 240 million year old and 6 metres (20ft) long fossil of an Ichtysaurus is being excavated at Spitsbergen. If everything goes well, it is going on display at Tromsø Musuem next year. Chances are that this fossil represents a new species - the longest reptile ever to be discovered in the Svalbard archipelago.

Ichtusauruses were sea-living reptiles, in shape like a dolphin. They had unusually big eyes, probably on account of living in deep or soiled waters.

This fossil was discovered in 2006, and found to be much larger than first expected. It is located right at the sea-front, where the water already has eroded some parts of it. The head of this Ichtysaurus is gone. It remains clear, however, that this animal must have measured an impressive 10 metres (32.8 ft) when alive. This large reptile probably fed on fish, squids etc. in the open sea above the continental shelf.

In our geological exhibition today, one can see only a few original fossils of Ichtysaurus bones, discovered on Andøya island in 1952. At the same island an almost complete skeleton became unearthed in 1971. A cast of this skeleton is found in our exhibition.

The excavation is carried out in cooperation with the Norwegian Polar Institute. Ph.D. Dierk Blomeier of the Institure is head of the excavation project, adn Ph.D. Elsebeth Thomsen is in charge of preparation and eventually exhibition at the musuem. This years' excavation is made possible through a generous donation from Statoil, that also supports the making of a showcase for this unique fossil.