Ichthyosaurs, or fish lizards, are believed to be the ancestor of dolphins and whales. It belongs to the giant group of reptiles that live at the same time as dinosaurs.

These animals are fierce, lumpy, with large eyes, narrow jaws and sharp cone teeth. It is estimated that Ichthyosaurs lived about 150 million years ago.

The fossil is found in Gujarat, India. Photo: Independent

What remains of this 5.5-metth reptile are found on a sedimentary rock dating back to the Middle-Species era.

After 1,500 hours, the specimen was unearthed in an almost intact state, missing only a part of the skull, fins and tailbone.

“The fossils of vertebrate animals are rarely found in the Indian region. So, finding such an almost intact skeleton, is really surprising,” said Guntupelli Prasad, the study’s lead author.

Ichthyosaurs are believed to be the ancestor of whales and dolphins. Photo: Shutterstock

Ichthyosaurs’ almost intact fossil skeleton has just been found in India. Photo :ScienceDaily

In a statement, the team hoped that this fossil skeleton would help the antistuists understand more about the development and scaling around the world.

In addition, the appearance of Ichthyosaurs here shows about 150 million years ago, there was a link between India and South America, where many fossil bones were found by the group.