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We’ve been working closely with local partners on the excavation, conservation and preservation of this remarkable find.
The primary partnership for the Sea Dragon is between Anglian Water, Rutland County Council and the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.
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With scientific support from: Dr Dean Lomax, specialist consultant and affiliated scientist at the University of Manchester; Dr Mark Evans from the British Antarctic Survey, Visiting Fellow at the University of Leicester; and Nigel Larkin, Natural History Conservation.
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The dig was also supported by several volunteers, including Dr Emma Nicholls from the Horniman Museum, Emily Swaby from the Open University, Paul de la Salle from the Etches Collection Museum, and the Peterborough Geological & Palaeontological Group.
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Preserving the Sea Dragon’s legacy
The Sea Dragon has made Rutland its home for the past 180 million years – and we want to make sure it stays that way. Generous funding was been provided by MDEM, the Geologists’ Assocation and the Palaeontographical Society. Our aim is to ensure the Sea Dragon can remain in the local community.
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In order for this to happen and to preserve the precious remains, the partnership is seeking heritage funding so its legacy can be shared with the general public. We have already received a generous grant from the Pilgrim Trust and Heritage Lottery Funding to help conserve the specimen, but this project is a huge undertaking and so we’re still looking for ways to fund the full process.
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Funding will ensure that the Sea Dragon can be conserved carefully, which will keep it in the best condition possible. This will allow the palaeontologists to study the Sea Dragon’s bones, which is especially important because this find is so unusual, and so it may offer brand new insights into ichthyosaurs and the Jurassic period as a whole for scientists.
The ultimate goal is to bring the Rutland Sea Dragon home to Rutland, so we can share this really exciting specimen with the wider public. Funding to conserve the Sea Dragon will mean that Nigel can get it looking its best, ready to go on display in its home county.