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Fossils found in Somerset by girl, 11, 'may be of largest-ever marine reptile'
- dosinga 3y agoArticle says: Justin Reynolds and his daughter Ruby. I'm sure Dad is proud and all and doesn't mind being left out of the headline, but it does make it a bit click-bait-y
- dvfjsdhgfv 3y agoFrankly, I understand him and I bet many (if not most) dads would do the same.
- potatosalad21 3y agoCollege application essay to study paleontology writes itself
- hanniabu 3y agoLooking at those objects on the table, I would never think they were bone fossils if I found them
- thaumasiotes 3y ago> The team have named the species Ichthyotitan severnensis, meaning “giant fish lizard of the Severn”. I wonder what part of that they think means "lizard".
- hnoyrnndd 3y agoNot ichthyo (meaning fish), but ichthyo as in a shortened form of ichthyosaur. It’s a stretch.
- Doctor_Fegg 3y agoAlso, it should arguably be Sabrinensis. cf https://operatoday.com/2020/05/herbert_howells_missa_sabrinensis_revealed_in_its_true_glory/ https://operatoday.com/2020/05/herbert_howells_missa_sabrine...
- buggy6257 3y agoA young girl, Ruby Reynolds (alliterative name), makes a large scientific discovery. ...This is how comic hero backstories start. I look forward to Dinogirl or whatever (far better) name she comes up with!
- marginalia_nu 3y agoHmm, I wonder what abilities the bite of a radioactive fossil would confer.
- throwaway63467 3y agoI hope she gets to name it!
- Tagbert 3y agoThis makes Ruby a modern-day, Mary Anning, combing the beach and discovering ichthyosaur fossils. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning
- batmaniam 3y agoWho gets naming rights in these cases? If I find a fossil, but some other scientist classifies it, do I still get rights to name it? Is there a legal framework around this, or is it just whoever has the biggest ego wins?
- hansvm 3y agohttps://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2009-08-28 https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2009-08-28 https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1523#comic https://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1523#comi...
- Blahah 3y agoThe name is usually assigned in a publication, but there is a long and wonderful tradition of involving laypeople in the naming, and/or naming it after them.
- mneedham 3y agoMy family lives down near Blue Anchor and we visit the beaches there most years. The cliffs are absolutely packed with fossils. My kids love it.
- jszymborski 3y agoI wonder how many times people have unknowingly come across fossils of unknown species and use them as paper weights, book-ends, or skipping stones.
- echelon 3y agoI hope this puts the claims that the "blue whale is the largest animal to ever live" to rest. We simply do not know.