The find on Blue Anchor beach
Ruby Reynolds and her father, Justin Reynolds, found the first pieces of a giant jawbone at Blue Anchor in Somerset in May 2020. Ruby, then 11, found the initial chunk.
It was the second such bone from that coastline. Paul de la Salle had found the first giant jawbone in May 2016 at Lilstock, further along the shore, and a single specimen is rarely enough to name a species. The Reynolds find gave palaeontologists the second example they needed.
Naming Ichthyotitan severnensis
The research team, led by Dr Dean Lomax of the universities of Manchester and Bristol and including de la Salle and Marcello Perillo of the University of Bonn, published the description in the journal PLOS ONE in April 2024. They named the animal Ichthyotitan severnensis, giant fish lizard of the Severn.
The size estimate is about 25 metres, which would make it comparable in length to a blue whale and, as CNN reported on 17 April 2024, possibly the largest known marine reptile. Estimates from jaw material carry uncertainty, which is why the reporting uses the word possibly and so does this page.
A published scientist at 14
Reynolds did not simply hand the bone over. She helped study, describe and name the fossil alongside Lomax's team, and appears on the resulting paper. Lomax put it plainly: for Ruby especially, he said, she is now a published scientist who not only found but also helped to name a type of gigantic prehistoric reptile.
Amateur finds have driven British palaeontology since Mary Anning worked the Dorset coast two centuries ago, and the Somerset and Dorset shoreline still produces specimens because the cliffs erode and release them. What is unusual here is not that a member of the public found something important, but that the finder ended up on the paper.
What the fossil tells us
Ichthyotitan lived at the end of the Triassic period, and the material from Blue Anchor and Lilstock comes from the last stretch before the mass extinction that closed it. The animal belongs to the ichthyosaurs, marine reptiles that resembled dolphins in outline and ruled the seas for well over a hundred million years.
A creature of that scale changes the picture of how large ichthyosaurs became. The team's work included examining the internal bone structure, which is how palaeontologists check whether an animal was still growing when it died.
What is documented and what is not
Documented: the find at Blue Anchor, Somerset, in May 2020 by Ruby Reynolds, then 11, and her father Justin; the earlier 2016 jawbone found by Paul de la Salle at Lilstock; the naming of Ichthyotitan severnensis in PLOS ONE in April 2024 by a team led by Dean Lomax; a size estimate of about 25 metres; and Lomax's statement that she is now a published scientist.
Not documented here: her date of birth, her school, and what she has done since the paper was published. The birth year on this page is derived from her reported age at the time of the find.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paula Imafidon | United Kingdom | Passing A-level mathematics at seven, in August 2008, with her twin… | Age 0 |
| Samantha Imafidon | United Kingdom | Passing GCSE mathematics and statistics at primary-school age | Age 0 |
| Ruby Reynolds | United Kingdom | Finding the fossil that led to Ichthyotitan severnensis | Age 7 |
| Peter Imafidon | United Kingdom | Reported in 2008 as, with twin sister Paula, the youngest ever to pass an… | Age 7 |
| Nishi Uggalle | United Kingdom | Winning Channel 4's Child Genius in 2019 | Age 10 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Found the first pieces of the second giant jawbone at Blue Anchor, Somerset, in May 2020, aged 11, with her father Justin
- The fossil was named Ichthyotitan severnensis in PLOS ONE in April 2024
- The animal is estimated at about 25 metres, comparable to a blue whale
- Dean Lomax stated that she is now a published scientist who helped name the species
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- Date of birth is not published; the birth year here is derived from her reported age
- Size estimates from jaw material carry uncertainty, which is why reports say possibly the largest
- Nothing about her since April 2024 is documented in these sources
Questions people ask about Ruby Reynolds
What did Ruby Reynolds find?
A chunk of a giant jawbone at Blue Anchor beach in Somerset in May 2020, which became part of the type material for Ichthyotitan severnensis.
How old was she?
11 at the time of the find. Her date of birth is not published in these sources.
How big was the animal?
Estimated at about 25 metres, comparable in length to a blue whale, though estimates from jaw material carry uncertainty.
What does the species name mean?
Ichthyotitan severnensis means giant fish lizard of the Severn.
Is Ruby Reynolds a published scientist?
Yes. She helped study, describe and name the fossil and appears on the 2024 PLOS ONE paper, as Dean Lomax stated.
Who else was involved?
Dr Dean Lomax of Manchester and Bristol led the research, with Paul de la Salle, who found the 2016 jawbone, and Marcello Perillo of the University of Bonn.
Where is Ruby Reynolds now?
Nothing after the April 2024 publication is documented in these sources.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Ruby’s story?
Where did Ruby Reynolds find the fossil?
What was the animal named?
How long is it estimated to have been?
Sources
- Ancient fossils lead to discovery of largest known marine reptile — CNN, 2024-04-17
- Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile — Phys.org (University of Manchester), 2024-04-17
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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