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250 million years ago, what is now the American west was largely under water.

A great ocean rose to the shoulders of the high mountains, ancient creatures swimming in the ancient waves.

Now those oceans have gone, but some trace remains. Fossils dot what is now the high desert, the ghosts of sea creatures still swimming through the sage. And perhaps the most spectacular ghost of all is the Ichthyosaur.

Ichtyosaur, which means “fish-lizard”, was a giant, sharp toothed, swimmer—and It ruled the seas for 160 million years.

And now, as the sagebrush gets ready to bloom outside, I crouch on the 3rd floor of the Nevada Museum of Art, and I look into its giant fossilized eye.

It’s skull is as long as a dining table. And with one flick of its giant tail, it returns home to the ancient sea.

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