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ANN ARBOR, MI When a man trying to cut down a tree became injured and trapped about 25 feet up this week, it was all hands on deck for the Ann Arbor Fire Department.

All on-duty firefighters responded at 11:29 a.m. Thursday, May 21, to the incident on Forest Creek Court off Stone School Road, said Fire Chief Mike Kennedy.

A friend of a homeowner was helping with tree removal when things went wrong, resulting in a case of blunt force trauma, Kennedy said.

It appears as he was taking a limb down, the limb struck him, and so he was injured and also stuck, Kennedy said.

Fortunately, several of the firefighters are members of the Washtenaw County Technical Rescue Team with specialized training to deal with such rescues, Kennedy said.

While the injured man wasnt pinned by the limb, it was still a complex and challenging rescue, Kennedy said, noting crews had to stabilize the patient and set up a rope system, while others cleared the area and braced a ladder.

There was just a lot of complicated and moving parts to this, he said, noting 18 firefighters and six trucks were on scene.

By 12:39 p.m., the man was down from the tree and transported by Huron Valley Ambulance in stable condition to the University of Michigan Hospital, the fire department reported.

He was conscious and alert throughout the entire ordeal, Kennedy said.

Based on the type of climbing and tree-trimming equipment the man had, he seemed to have experience, but he wasnt doing it as a contractor, Kennedy said.

I dont know if he ever did this professionally, but it sounded like he had quite a bit of personal experience, he said. This wasnt like a weekend chainsaw warrior or something.

The mans harness probably saved him from really significant injury, Kennedy said.

While Ann Arbor firefighters were on scene, firefighters from Pittsfield, Scio and Ann Arbor townships provided coverage of the city under mutual-aid agreements.

These types of technical rescues are pretty rare and its been well over a decade since there was a similar tree rescue in Ann Arbor, Kennedy said. Sadly, he said, there usually are some deaths resulting from tree trimming in Michigan every year.

These are very serious events, he said, noting the amount of force from a tree limb can be significant.

Fortunately, he said, firefighters spend a lot of time training for incidents like this, so the rescue went like clockwork.

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Continue reading here:
Ann Arbor firefighters rescue injured man trapped 25 feet up in tree - MLive.com

One man is dead after a tree fell on a home Thursday morning following a night of strong storms.John Shelton, director of Surry County Emergency Services, said it happened around 5 a.m. on the 100 block of Boeing Lane in Mount Airy.The tree fell on the home near a bedroom, according to Shelton, killing Nicolas 'Nic' Rodriguez.Rodriguez, 20, was sleeping when a tree crashed into his bedroom and killed him. "This tree fell right across the bedroom area. Unfortunately there was no way for him to get away from it. It happened so fast," Shelton said. "He heard a loud bang and thats when he saw the tree," Paulino Galarza said. Galarza is Rodriguez' uncle. Galarza received a call from his brother saying that Rodriguez has been killed. "He couldnt get to him. The tree was pretty huge. So yeah, it was just very unexpected."Rodriguez's roommate was not harmed during the storm.The two roommates played football together at North Surry High School. Rodriguez played linebacker and helped win the team's 2017 conference championship.On Thursday, former teammates visited the site of the crash and posted on social media to share memories and pay their respects."Hed walk into a room. Always be smiling. Always bring a smile to everyones face," Galarza said.Galarza said Rodriguez was studying to become a gym teacher at Surry Community College."It hits me really hard," Galarza said. "Just still in shock like its all just a bad dream."Shelton says tree removal crews raised concerns about other trees in the trailer community in hopes they would be removed before the next big storm rolls through. Nic's uncle has set up a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses.

One man is dead after a tree fell on a home Thursday morning following a night of strong storms.

John Shelton, director of Surry County Emergency Services, said it happened around 5 a.m. on the 100 block of Boeing Lane in Mount Airy.

The tree fell on the home near a bedroom, according to Shelton, killing Nicolas 'Nic' Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, 20, was sleeping when a tree crashed into his bedroom and killed him.

"This tree fell right across the bedroom area. Unfortunately there was no way for him to get away from it. It happened so fast," Shelton said.

"He heard a loud bang and thats when he saw the tree," Paulino Galarza said. Galarza is Rodriguez' uncle. Galarza received a call from his brother saying that Rodriguez has been killed. "He couldnt get to him. The tree was pretty huge. So yeah, it was just very unexpected."

Rodriguez's roommate was not harmed during the storm.

The two roommates played football together at North Surry High School. Rodriguez played linebacker and helped win the team's 2017 conference championship.

On Thursday, former teammates visited the site of the crash and posted on social media to share memories and pay their respects.

"Hed walk into a room. Always be smiling. Always bring a smile to everyones face," Galarza said.

Galarza said Rodriguez was studying to become a gym teacher at Surry Community College.

"It hits me really hard," Galarza said. "Just still in shock like its all just a bad dream."

Shelton says tree removal crews raised concerns about other trees in the trailer community in hopes they would be removed before the next big storm rolls through.

Nic's uncle has set up a GoFundMe page for funeral expenses.

Excerpt from:
20-year-old man killed after tree falls on mobile home in Mount Airy - WXII12 Winston-Salem

If CESC has become the most sought after name in the city, desperation is driving Calcutta neighbourhoods to unparalleled lengths in their effort to catch hold of linesmen.

At Suryanagar in Bansdroni on Sunday morning, a group of CESC workers were repairing cables, surrounded by a group of residents who had not had power over the past four days.

Yards away, a knot of Calcuttans had formed another ring. They were from an adjoining neighbourhood, Pallishree, keeping vigil so that they could ensure the linesmen accompanied them to their locality instead of being hijacked by some other desperate group bereft of power.

We are all camping here so we can catch hold of them, homemaker Gouri Kanjilal said, pointing at the CESC team.

In Lake Gardens on Saturday, a middle-aged woman was grateful and gracious enough to offer snacks to the CESC workers but not before she had taken the universal precaution of grabbing the ignition key from their pick-up.

She tied the key to her sari-end and kept it with her for several hours till late Saturday afternoon, that is, until the repairmen had fixed the lines.

She offered them biscuits and tea. But the keys were with her till the job was done, an eyewitness said.

Scenes of linesmen being chased, cajoled, detained and released from captivity only after the mission has been accomplished have been playing out across a city shaken by the aftershocks of the cyclone.

In both tree removal often a prerequisite for power cable repairs and the restoration of electricity, there was visible improvement on the ground on Sunday. Several teams of tree cutters, including some from the army, were at work.

The state home department tweeted the names of several places where power had been restored.

CESC today informed the state government that power was restored in Jadavpur, Selimpur, Mukundapur, Survey Park, Patuli, Regent Estate, NSC Bose Road, Behala Chowrasta, James Long Sarani, Silpara, Lake Town, Jessore Road, Nagerbazar, Rashbehari Connector, BB Chatterjee Road (1/2), the tweet said.

(A resident of the main Survey Park told this newspaper at 9.30pm on Sunday that her home was without power for the fifth consecutive evening. She said the army had on Sunday cleared the area of fallen trees, some of which had already been cut down by workers hired by the residents.)

(The state-run) WBSEDCL today informed the state government that power was restored in Garia, Bansdroni, Kestopur, Baguiati, Teghoria, Salt Lake, New Town, Barasat, Tamluk, Egra, Contai, Krishnanagar, Santipur, Ranaghat, Gayespur and Kalyani (1/2), Sonarpur, Baruipur, Rajpur, Narendrapur, Kakdwip and Namkhana, the home department tweet added.

A bus stop away from Suryanagar, in Netaji Nagar Colony, a five-member CESC team that was about to move on after an inspection was held inside a club building from Sunday morning.

Some of the residents said the five would be set free once power returned. We have not misbehaved with them. We just want them to restore the power connection, said Arunabha Basu.

Basus neighbour Ashis Das said boys from the adjoining Sanghati Colony had come and taken away two of the five personnel.

This triggered tension among the residents of the two colonies but both sides had reason to act in such desperation; CESC must mobilise more men, Das said.

CESC has said that several of its staff had gone home to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh because of the virus-fuelled lockdown and have been unable to return at short notice.

At Suryanagar, scores of residents, wearing masks because of the Covid-19 threat, had assembled on Sunday morning around the point where the CESC workers had raised their ladder to disentangle cables from an uprooted radhachura tree.

No one was allowed to pass through the lane lest their movement disrupt the pace of work.

It would not be proper to disturb them. Please wait, Jignesh, who identified himself only by his first name, was heard telling a young man on a bike.

For the Pallishree group, it was a long vigil. Standing a few feet from Gauri, Pradip Majumder said they were taking turns keeping watch. We cannot afford to lose sight of the workers, he said.

The CESC team, which had started on the job on Saturday, worked till 3pm on Sunday to restore power in Suryanagar.

From Suryanagar, they were whisked away to Pallishree, which had its power restored by 6pm.

A doctor in the Rathtala area of NSC Bose Road was left wondering whether her side of the road was paying the price for not protesting on the streets.

The houses on the opposite side of the road had their supply restored today but ours havent. They had agitated yesterday; we only made a formal complaint. Perhaps thats why, the doctor said.

Read the rest here:
City in hot pursuit of power repairmen - Telegraph India

Last week it was revealed Tom Brady will have his own Last Dancetype documentary titled Man In the Arena.

ESPN will air the nine-episode series,with each episode covering one of the ex-New England Patriots quarterback'snine Super Bowl runs. Gotham Chopra, a name Pats fans may recognize as the director of Tom vs. Time,is a producer for the docuseries which is set to premierein2021.

Chopra recently caught up with Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated's MMQB to chat about the upcoming documentary and what fans should expect.

Download the MyTeams app for the latest Patriots news and analysis

"It's not Tom Brady'sLast Dance," Chopra told Breer. "It's not that. That may or may not exist 20 years from now, I don't know. There's this sort of immediacy to this. The premise [ofThe Last Dance] was telling stories about the seasons, whereas [Brady's], it does feel a little bit more real time. Tom continues to be an active player. So the idea is, O.K., let's talk about these nine seasons, this incredible body of work across 20 years, and how it's still sort of affecting him.'"

"Jordan's sitting on a couch, looking back, literally looking at stuff on the iPad, reminiscing about things. Tom's kind of, just when you're talking to him, it's still very fresh, because he's still processing a lot of things that may have happened across a season."

As for who elsewill make appearances in the series, that remains to be seen. Chopra notes the COVID-19 pandemic has stalled the interview process, but important figures in Brady's career such as Bill Belichick and Drew Bledsoe have already been reached out to.

"This is inside the mind of Tom," Chopra said. "So we'll ask Tom, I'll use the most obvious one, 2001,What was it like working with Drew [Bledsoe] that season?Got it, now we go talk to Drew, and get his perspective on that. So yeah, there are other voices, other players, coaches, etc., and people off the field that had a lot of influence across those specific seasons that we're trying to get. Now, we've got the added layer of complexity of getting to those people, like everyone else in the world, we're dealing with that."

Story continues

Along with the Super Bowl appearances, Chopra saysMan In the Arenawill cover both the "Spygate" and "Deflate-gate" controversies. As for whether Brady's 2020 campaign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be included in the series, Chopra says there are no plans for that as of now.

'Man In the Arena' producer sheds light on what to expect from Tom Brady documentary originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

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'Man In the Arena' producer sheds light on what to expect from Tom Brady documentary - Yahoo Sports

New findings highlight the role of self-disgust in geriatric loneliness, pointing to a mechanism of avoidance. An eye-tracking task found that geriatric adults who were high (vs. low) in self-disgust displayed avoidant viewing when looking at images of their faces. The findings were published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Loneliness is alarmingly common in the older population and has been linked to numerous detrimental outcomes such as difficulty sleeping, risk of cardiovascular disease, and even suicide. Ypsilanti and colleagues wanted to explore a psychological construct that might predispose geriatric adults to loneliness self-disgust.

Researchers conducted two unique studies. In Study 1, 102 adults between the ages of 55-90 completed the Self-Disgust Scale, which included items like I find myself repulsive and I often do things I find revolting. Subjects also completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a short version of the Geriatric Depression Scale, and a short version of the State and Trait Anxiety Index for Adults.

After controlling for various demographic variables, results showed that self-disgust was positively correlated with loneliness, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Furthermore, mediation analysis found that self-disgust significantly explained the association between loneliness and anxiety. This new finding is important, the researchers explain, because it sheds light on an emotional process that may influence anxiety in older adults who are especially lonely.

A second study was conducted to explore whether geriatric adults who rank high (vs. low) in self-disgust would avoid looking at images of their own faces. The authors explain, If this is the case, then levels of self disgust may cause and/or maintain loneliness via avoidance, as the person avoids inflicting their presence on others.

A total of 80 adults between the ages of 55-89 participated in an eye-tracking study. Subjects were shown a series of faces and asked to gaze at them naturally. Eight of the images were unknown faces and one photo was of the participants own face. Each image was shown 6 times for a total of 5 seconds and researchers used an eye tracker to measure vigilance (time to first fixation), maintenance (fixation duration at 1000 ms), and avoidance (changes in fixation duration over time).

Participants also completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale and the Self-Disgust Scale and were separated into either the high-disgust group or low-disgust group based on their scores. While results showed no differences in the two groups when it came to vigilance and maintenance scores on the eye-tracking task, differences were apparent when it came to avoidance.

Results showed that those in the high-disgust group displayed avoidant viewing at seconds 4 and 5 when looking at images of their own faces, while those in the low-disgust group did not. This suggests that those with high self-disgust scores intentionally avoided stimuli that evoked a reminder of the self (images of their own faces). The authors theorize, as time passes, the picture depicting their own face may induce dysphoric feelings or dysphoric thoughts representing a negatively valenced schematic representation of the self.

The researchers express that their findings provide important evidence for the association between self-disgust and psychological issues in older adults. While previous interventions have focused on combating loneliness by strengthening social networks, the authors suggest instead that interventions for lonely older adults should address issues surrounding self-perceptions and feelings of worthlessness that may contribute to the development of self-disgust.

The study, Self-disgust, loneliness and mental health outcomes in older adults: An eyetracking study, was authored by Antonia Ypsilanti, Anna Robson, Lambros Lazuras, Philip A. Powell, and Paul G. Overton.

(Image by Mihai Paraschiv from Pixabay)

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Eye-tracking study sheds light on the role of self-disgust in geriatric loneliness - PsyPost

Teaching and learning at home, has been a challenge for many families. However, imagine having to teach your children in a language you don't know. Or, being a child fearing not passing to the next grade because you simply don't understand.

"There's hurt feelings, people not getting along, said licensed clinical social worker, Millie Gaitan Gonzalez. People being unsatisfied and the emotional chaos at home could get worst every time."

"The struggles that I see with the families are, first they don't know the language and another big struggle is the internet, said Maria Juarez, who is the lead migrant liaison for the Jerome School District. Even though Chromebooks were available to students through the school, if they don't have internet then they aren't able to do their homework."

About 100 migrant families from Latin America immigrate to Jerome each year. Juarez says, these families sacrifice everything in their lives to give their children a better future.

"They don't understand the language but they're using google translate to translate all the emails the school is sending them. So, I've seen parents that are there, wanting their kids to have an education."

This language barrier issue only mirrors some of the challenges the Hispanic community faces, on an everyday basis. According to peer reviewed journal, Globalization and Health, first generation Latino immigrants, who are the parents of second generation Latino children, are at a higher risk for mental health disorders compared to the settled population.

"The adults may feel more isolated than the children because the children adapt and they're more resilient, said Gaitan Gonzalez. Even if they're not from here, if they were born in a different country, the children adapt they adapt really quickly. I think the grown-ups are the ones who more have that sensation of, I don't belong here.

On the other hand, second generation Latino children can suffer with mental health conditions too. This is due to feeling like they don't belong in both the Hispanic culture and the American culture. That's according to licensed marriage and family therapist, Dr. Michael Whitehead, who researched the effects of parenting and Latino immigrants at Michigan State University for his dissertation.

"Second generation immigrants typically have a higher risk for mental health problems as a result of their identity split and the pressure they feel from both their parents and society. Identity development and identity formation actually leads to a lot of difficult problems for kids. If they're not sure who they are or where they fit-in in a culture, they will try to find a place where they fit in. Sometimes that could be in gangs, delinquency or substance abuse. Obviously anxiety and depression fall into those things."

However, professional help isn't always sought after, even though it might be needed. Latinos sometimes prefer the help of their own inner groups.

"The natural thing is to talk to my comadre, go talk to mom, grandma and get help from each other because we're more of a collective society. We help each other out. So, seeking help from a stranger is not natural," Gaitan Gonzalez said.

Even though there are hardships, there is hope when the whole family and community shows compassion.

"I would just encourage parents, teachers and other caregivers in that child's life, to offer compassion. Offer help, and allow the child to be able to find support in some way," said Dr. Whitehead.

"I would tell the people to not be afraid to look for help. I know it's hard but its okay, it just means that you want to get better and there is help for you and your kids, said Gaitan. You don't have to suffer and go through this all alone."

"I think it takes the student, the parent, the teachers and just the whole community to be able to work together to see these kids succeed," Juarez said.

More:
Pandemic learning hardships in the Hispanic community sheds light on mental health - KMVT

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) Respiratory problems from COVID-19 are well-publicized, but a new study sheds more light on the neurological dangers of the coronavirus.

COVID-19 does serious damage to several internal organs in severe cases. Doctors in New York studied 2,500 patients and found an increased risk for stroke in older people with underlying conditions.

According to Dr. Brian Steig, chairman of the brain and spine center at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, that's "seven times higher than the average number of strokes seen in patients that have routine influenzas."

Another major problem, he explained, is people putting things off because they're afraid to go to the hospital.

Related:

"Despite the fact that we were taking care of this pandemic crisis in New York City, the hospital was still open for managing medical and surgical emergencies. We did that without turning an eye," he said.

Steig said some people who had strokes or ruptured aneurysms were waiting almost a week before seeking treatment because they were scared of being exposed to COVID-19.

More:
New study sheds more light on COVID-19 and strokes - Talk Radio 1210 WPHT

The ESI Digital Summit (#ESIDIGITAL) is just a day away, providing insights into the esports industry for attendees in the comfort of their own homes. As well as hosting panels on emerging trends, pressing topics, and debate subjects, the event gives a platform to companies whove chosen to activate within esports.

As part of whats become tradition for Esports Insiders business conferences, such as ESI London and ESI New York, the ESI Digital Summit will follow suit and host multiple brand showcases. Rights-holders and select commercial partners will grace the stage well, the screen in this case to shed light into how the partnerships came to be, successful activations theyve executed in esports, and how these experiences compare to other markets.

Just last month, North American organisation Rogue entered a deal with Kia Motors specifically for its European League of Legends team. Interestingly, Kia Motors was an existing sponsor of Riot Games LEC the very league that Rogue is a long-term partner of.

While the one-year partnership has only just taken to the road, its still a significant partnership between an esports organisation and a major player in the global automotive market. Rogues players will utilise Kia Motors vehicles while travelling, but there are plenty of topics to discuss when looking at a brand deal of this nature.

With that in mind, Anna Baumann, Managing Director of Rogue Sports Europe, andSaeGyul Yoon of Kia, will speak at the ESI Digital Summit to look under the hood of this exciting collaboration.

London-based organisation Fnatic and smartphone manufacturer OnePlus realised a global partnership in January 2019 after first collaborating at Paris Games Week in 2017. What has followed is regarded by many as one of the deepest brand integrations in esports to date.

Not only does OnePlus activate through a standard jersey sponsorship, the smartphone giant introduced the One Plus FNATIC Mode in its OnePlus 7 Series. This setting is the models enhanced performance mode specifically devised for gaming, and bringing Fnatic into the fold so heavily was an integration nobody could have predicted years prior.

Fnatics Partnerships Manager, Edward Gregory, and OnePlus Director of Global Brand Partnerships, Eric Gass, will delve into the partnership on day one of ESI Digital Summit.

Nestl managed to turn whats effectively a negative aspect of a broadcast into a great marketing opportunity with its KitKat brand. Sponsoring the pauses in LECs broadcast which typically take place due to unforeseen technical difficulties and are only amplified by online play and making a play on KitKats well-known Have a break, have a KitKat slogan.

KitKat sponsored the pauses to make those minutes of downtime fly by with a rather organic and logical activation, opting out of just slapping its logo on the leagues social media channels and leaving it there.

Alban Dechelotte, Head of Partnerships & Business for Riot Games EMEA, Georg Fischer, Marketing Manager for KitKat in Europe, Middle East, North Africa forNestl, and Nazar Syrotiuk, Emerging Tech Manager, Innovation & Service Models atNestl will break down the partnership at ESI Digital Summit.

Read more:
Kia, KitKat, and OnePlus to shed light on esports partnerships at ESI Digital Summit - Esports Insider

A young Scot who tipped the scales at the start of the year at 21 stone has shed three stone during lockdown.

Andrew Barnsleys weight ballooned as he struggled to cope following the sudden death of his mum.

The 21-year-old said he hit rock bottom when mum Linda Barnsley died age of heart failure two years ago at aged just 43.

The former call centre worker said he struggled with his mental wellbeing and would comfort eat to make himself feel better.

He told The Record: The trauma of losing my mum had a huge effect on my mental health.

"I'd comfort eat and the weight piled on, making me feel even worse.

"I had to leave my job and by January this year I felt at my worse.

"I'd written suicide notes and had it all planned out because I just didn't know how to go on."

But after Scotland was plunged into lockdown he decided to get his life back on track.

Andrew from Paisley, Renfrewshire, with the love and support of his family and girlfriend, Jenna Russell, 18, is now setting about making 2020 his year.

His progress has gone viral, after he showed off his weight loss and encouraged other young Scots to join him on taking back control of their own lives.

He says he feels physically and mentally and is now an ambassador for Scottish mental health charity, back onside.

He added: "My diet now compared to before is like night and day.

"I used to comfort eat and choose a lot of junk food.

"These days I eat healthy meals and low calorie snacks, and I drink three litres of water a day.

"Before lockdown I was going to the gym a lot, but now I go out running and do some weights at home.

"I have never felt happier."

His Instagram account, Behind The Smile, candidly discusses his mental health journey and the page has amassed over 5,500 followers.

With no plans to go back to his former size, Andrew hopes sharing his story will help others facing similar battles.

"I'm lost for words at how much better I feel in such a short space of time," he said.

"Everybody's weight and fitness struggles are different.

"We should use lockdown as a way to better ourselves. "

Andrew added: "My motto now is to always try to be better than yesterday.

"Take one day at a time and don't look back.

"Just look at where you want to be with your health and you'll get there."

Top news stories today

You can contact the Samaritans 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 116 123 or by visiting their website.

Follow Behind The Smile on Instagram.

Originally posted here:
Young Scot sheds three stone in lockdown transformation after struggling with mental health - Daily Record

This is an artistic life reconstruction of Nannopterygius. Credit: Andrey-Atuchin

The skeleton of an extinct fish lizard locked in a glass case over 16ft from the ground for the last 100 years has finally been studied, thanks to a selfie stick on a fishing rod.

The 145 million-year-old Nannopterygius is a species of ichthyosaur, which swam the seas of our planet for about 76 million years. It is on display in the Natural History Museum, London, but its glass cabinet is hung too high for easy examination.

Russian paleontologist Nikolay Zverkov was desperate to see the London specimen as he thought some of the Russian ichthyosaurs might be similar.

It turns out he was right and that this particular species of swimming prehistoric reptile was common in its day, the Jurassic period.

To photograph and assess the skeleton, Nikolay attached a digital camera on a selfie stick to a fishing rod and connected it to a PC via a very long USB cable. He passed the photos on to University of Portsmouth paleontologist Megan Jacobs who was working on Ichthyosaurs for her Masters Degree.

Nikolay Zverkov capturing the ichthyosaur in the Marine Reptile Gallery of the Natural History Museum, London UK. Credit: Nikolay Zverkov

Megan and Nikolay have now published a paper on the findings in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Megan said: Nicolay obtained excellent detailed photographs which significantly expand our knowledge of Nannoptergyius enthekiodon.

I realized that fossil expert Dr. Steve Etches had also discovered examples of Nannoptergyius near to where the original specimen was found and hed also discovered other examples across the UK.

Finally being able to study this enigmatic animal has shown that it was actually very common and widespread in the Late Jurassic occurring not only in England, but also in European Russia and in the Arctic.

Thanks to this new study, several more specimens of Nannopterygius have been found in museum collections across the UK in Oxford, Cambridge and in the Etches Collection in Kimmeridge, Dorset, as well as in Russia and Norway, showing this animal to be much more common than previously thought, and making it one of the most widespread of any similar swimming reptile.

University of Portsmouth Professor of Palaeobiology, Dave Martill, a world leading expert who supervised Megans research, said: We previously only had detailed knowledge of a type of ichthyosaur called Ophthalmosaurus, which was known from hundreds of specimens, including well-preserved skeletons from the Middle Jurassic Oxford Clay Formation of England.

The excellent data available for Ophthalmosaurus contrasted with the impoverished record of other Middle and Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs, so being able to access the Nannopterygius a formerly inaccessible specimen has given us fascinating new insight into a particular species of ichthyosaur we knew very little about.

Nikolay added: For decades the scientific community thought that Nannopterygius was the rarest and most poorly known ichthyosaur of England. Finally we can say that we know nearly every skeletal detail of these small ichthyosaurs, and that these animals were widespread. The answer was very close we just needed a fishing rod.

Reference: Revision of Nannopterygius (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae): reappraisal of the inaccessible holotype resolves a taxonomic tangle and reveals an obscure ophthalmosaurid lineage with a wide distribution by Nikolay G Zverkov and Megan L Jacobs, 15 May 2020, ,Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa028

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How a Selfie Stick and Fishing Rod Accessed an Ancient Skeleton to Shed First Light on 145 Million-Year-Old Reptile - SciTechDaily