Matthew Myerscough Finds 201-Million-Year-Old Sea Dragon Jawbone in Wales After 2014 Avalanche
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 30
Matthew Myerscough Finds 201-Million-Year-Old Sea Dragon Jawbone in Wales After 2014 Avalanche
1 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 30
Summary
Lavernock Point in south Wales yielded a 201-million-year-old lower jawbone that Matthew Myerscough and two fellow fossil hunters spotted in limestone, a find experts identified as a rhomaleosaurus, or "sea dragon."
National Museum Cardiff is still researching the fossil, which Myerscough said is the first plesiosaur jawbone of its kind found in Wales and could lead to an academic paper.
Myerscough turned to fossil hunting after a 2014 avalanche on Yr Wyddfa left him buried under a metre of snow, unconscious for 20 minutes and later dealing with PTSD.
The civil engineer said the concentration fossil hunting demands helped his stress "melt away," eventually drawing him from mountaineering to the fossil-rich beaches of the Vale of Glamorgan.