The discovery of a giant marine reptile skull in the United States has revealed new theories about the speed of evolution and how quickly the process can produce diversity.

The giant ichthyosaur fossil, with a skull measuring almost two metres in length, an estimated body length of more than 17 metres and a weight 45 tonnes, was found in Nevada.

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Ichthyosaurs are large extinct marine reptiles that dominated the sea more than 200 million years ago. Analysis of the skull of this particular ichthyosaur fossil has revealed a new species, the Cymbospondylus youngorum.

The skull analysis was part of a larger research effort undertaken by an international team in order to understand how quickly body size evolved in ichthyosaurs when compared to the body size evolution of whales – another group of originally four-legged land vertebrates that returned to life in the sea, just like the ichthyosaur.

"Ichthyosaurs attained giant body size in a very short amount of time, evolutionarily speaking, just about 3 million years. In comparison, whales took about 45 million years to reach their largest body sizes," Lars Schmitz, an associate professor of biology at the W.M. Keck Science Department said in a press release.

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Schmitz is part of the team that have been researching the fossil.

"What this fossil discovery shows is that, if ecological conditions are just right and there's a certain amount of environmental stability, evolution can proceed remarkably quickly."

Schmitz worked with a team of international researchers to analyse the fossil, identify the ichthyosaur as a new species, create a phylogenetic tree- a diagram which shows the evolutionary relationships among various biological species – and then led a computational analysis comparing the speed and type of the evolution of body size in ichthyosaurs to that of whales.

Cymbospondylus youngorum was part of a group of reptiles that returned to the ocean during the Triassic Period – the beginning of the age of the dinosaurs, and totally adapted to marine life. Schmitz describes it as a "fish lizard."

The ichthyosaur fossil found in Nevada – which includes a preserved skull, shoulder and an arm similar to a flipper -was discovered in rocks that have preserved a cross section of fauna that existed approximately five million years after "the Great Dying." That happened around 252 million years ago, when 81 per cent of the world's marine life went extinct.

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When the skull was discovered, the research team was initially unsure as to how an animal as large as this one could have evolved and survived so soon after the most severe extinction event on Earth.

"The oceans of that period were extremely different from our modern oceans," Schmitz explained. "The modern marine ecosystems that feed today's whales consist of very large-body plankton, which didn't exist when Cymbospondylus youngorum was around. We found a gigantic ichthyosaur that had lived in an era when oceans were considered unable to sustain that size of animal."

The finding has provided Schmitz and the research team with a new insight into just how quickly evolution can take place and lead to variety.

"This fossil is an example of how fast evolution can produce diversity," Schmitz said. "You can go from zero to 100 in a few million years, which is very fast in evolutionary terms."

The research was published in the journal Science on Thursday.

Batches of Huggies baby wipes are being recalled due to the presence of a harmful bacteria.

Two batches of the Huggies Thick Baby Wipes Fragrance Free Limited Edition Tropical that had a Little Mermaid design are being taken off shelves.

The wipes were exclusively sold at Woolworths across Australia.

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The reason for the recall is that a bacterium called burkholderia cepacian was identified after testing.

Huggies said while the bacteria poses "little medical risk to healthy people" it may cause serious infections or other health issues in people who have a weakened immune system.

Huggies also added that the bacteria was only found in the select batches of the limited edition wipes and not in any other wipes.

Anyone who has bought these wipes that has a batch code of B21072004 or D21072005 printed on the side of the pack is advised to stop using them immediately and contact Huggies.

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The notion of what the world would look like if humans were to vanish has been explored extensively by scientists, as well as many post-apocalyptic movies.

However, French photographer Romain Veillon is making it his mission to capture in pictures the potential result of a planet without people.

The 38-year-old has spent years photographing abandoned places around the world that have been overtaken by nature, with eerily beautiful results.

For his latest book, Green Urbex: The World Without Us, Mr Veillon shot a series of deserted and/or forgotten spots, including a ghost town in Namibia, an abandoned cinema in Brussels, a dilapidated Tuscan villa and a disused railway track in Ukraine.

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He hopes the haunting images will serve as a reminder of the "necessity to live in harmony with our habitat", as well as highlight the importance of working with, rather than against, nature.

"We are all fascinated by this post-apocalyptic vision," he said.

"Maybe we need to be the witness of that to enjoy what we have and the time in front of us."

The book, which is only available in French at present, is divided into three different sections. The first showcases deserted places that remain relatively well preserved and the second focuses on dilapidated sites in a far worse state.

Finally, the third section is made of images of long-forgotten places that have been completely overrun by vegetation.

"The photographs were all shot during the last 10 years," Mr Veillon said to CNN.

"It's really a mix of all the places I have been documenting since I started."

His fascination with abandoned places began at an early age, when he discovered a deserted truck factory near Paris.

Although the book, which contains over 200 images, provides some historical background to a number of the sites, the photographer says he tries to offer as little detail as possible so that people can "make up their own answers" to any questions they may have.

"Each story will be different from the other, and that's what I love," he adds.

However, capturing deserted spots in so many different, and often remote, corners of the world is far more complicated than just picking up a camera and hitting the road.

Mr Veillon sometimes spends months researching lesser-known sites and pinpointing their exact location, not to mention applying for authorisation to photograph some of them.

"I spend hours searching for historical clues that can help me locate the location I want to photograph," he explains.

"There's a huge amount of time [spent] on Google Maps trying to see if some buildings might be buried under vegetation. And just driving around when you're in a new area can also bring some nice surprises."

Having friends all over the world has also proved useful to the photographer, who often receives tips from other travellers, and sometimes his social media followers, on potential sites to include in his work.

One of the highlights from the book is an image of Buzludzha, an abandoned Soviet monument in Bulgaria, which Mr Veillon says was one of his favourite places to photograph.

"Buzludzha is for sure the most extraordinary and unique place I have ever been to," he says of the former Bulgarian Communist Party headquarters built atop a mountain.

"From the outside, it looks like a UFO, and inside, you find the most beautiful mosaics."

Romania's defunct Constanța Casino, which has been designated as a historic monument by the Romanian Ministry of Culture and National Patrimony, also left a lasting impression.

"I was so surprised to see the remains of the old casino stage, the wonderful chandeliers or the ornaments of the grand staircase," he said.

Mr Veillon's haunting images of Japan's Nara Dreamland, taken around a decade after the theme park closed in 2006, have garnered the most attention.

"This is a perfect example of what I want to show when we say 'nature is taking over," he said.

"You can see ivy slowly covering the roller coaster like it is getting eaten by it. The park was destroyed [between 2016 and 2017] not long after my visit, so it makes the photograph even more iconic I think."

While the travel restrictions brought about by the pandemic have meant Mr Veillon's travels have been few and far between of late, he hopes to visit ghost town Akarmara, a former coal-mining village in Abkhazia, Georgia that's been overtaken by trees, in the near future.

"It [Akarmara] is the one journey I should have done a long time ago," he said.

Australians are being warned to watch their wallets at this year's Boxing Day sales, with record spending predicted.

The Australian Retailers Associated has estimated people will spend $21 billion in the post-Christmas sales through to mid-January.

But RateCity.com.au has warned people to keep a check on their spending, particularly if using a credit card or a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) service.

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The comparison website said the latest RBA credit card statistics showed Australians paid $250 million in interest in just one month on $17.08 billion of credit card debt.

While the number of credit card users has been on the decline since 2018, there are still more than 12.4 million accounts in Australia.

However, it's not just credit cards stinging shoppers.

A RateCity.com.au survey of more than 1000 people found 55 per cent of BNPL users had gotten into some level of financial trouble at least once using these platforms.

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A quarter of respondents said they had cut back on essential spending like meals, while others said they had borrowed money from family and friends, taken on extra work, or taken out a loan to cover what they owed.

RateCity.com.au research director Sally Tindall said people should plan ahead before shopping in the sales.

"Before you hit the shops, whether that's in-store or online, check your bank balance and any outstanding debts so you know how much you can afford to spend," she said.

"Don't get carried away buying things you don't need and can't afford. Write out a list ahead of time and try not to get distracted."

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Meanwhile, retailers are also predicting a boom in spending.

"On Boxing Day alone, from sales both in-store and online, we expect to sell more than 20,000 sheet sets, 30,000 dinner sets, 122,000 towels, 52,000 t-shirts and 13,000 pairs of jeans," Myer chief customer officer Geoff Ikin said.

"Millions of customers are expected to shop in-store and online over this highly anticipated sale period."

Unions are calling for shoppers to be mindful and respectful of workers during the sales.

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association in NSW (SDA NSW) secretary Bernie Smith urged customers to wear masks in shops – which will be mandatory in multiple jurisdictions.

And he suggested people take advantage of the sales after Boxing Day proper.

"Boxing Day is on a Sunday this year, meaning Monday and Tuesday are public holidays too," Mr Smiths aid.

"So, we ask that customers give retail workers their break on Boxing Day and shop the sales on the days after instead."

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