Jakarta –
The skull of a giant sea monster has been excavated from a series of cliffs on the coast of Dorset, England.
The creature is known as a pliosaur, a vicious marine reptile that hunted in the open seas about 150 million years ago.
This two meter long fossil is one of the most complete pliosaur fossil discoveries so that the public can gain new insight into this ancient predator.
Steve Etches has obtained a Pliosaurus skull. Now he wants to have other fossil remains of the animal. (BBC/Tony Jolliffe)
“Wah!”
The audience was stunned when the cloth covering the fossil was pulled away, revealing the pliosaur skull for the first time.
It is clear from the size of the skull alone that the pliosaur was a giant sea creature and the fossils are preserved in good condition.
Local paleontologist Steve Etches believes there is no other fossil specimen anywhere that compares to it.
How complete are the fossils of the giant monsters from the Durset cliffs?
“This is one of the best fossils I have ever worked with. What makes it unique is its completeness,” Steve Etches told BBC News.
“The lower jaw and upper skull are fused together, just like they would have been in life. In the entire world, almost no other specimen has ever been found that has such a level of detail.
“And if there is any, many parts are missing. Whereas this, although slightly distorted – every bone is there.”
Steve Etches shows a pliosaur jaw to Sir David Attenborough. (BBC Studios)
The skull is longer than the height of most humans. This can give you an idea of how big the creature is overall.
Everyone’s attention must be drawn to his 130 teeth, especially those at the front.
With long, sharp teeth like razors, this giant creature can kill its prey with one bite.
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But if you dare to look closely, the back of each tooth has a subtle groove.
The grooves help the giant creature penetrate the flesh of its prey and retract its dagger-like fangs quickly so it is ready for a second attack.
BBC/Tony Jolliffe Pliosaur teeth had grooves.
Pliosaurs: Giant predators that ruled the seas
Pliosaurs were vicious killers with a length of 10-12 meters. Equipped with four strong fin-like body parts, pliosaurs were able to move through the sea at high speed.
This creature was once the highest predator in the ocean food chain.
“The animal was so large that I think it was capable of effectively preying on any creature unfortunate enough to be around,” said Dr Andre Rowe from the University of Bristol.
“I have no doubt that this is some kind of underwater T-rex.”
Pliosaur prey included other reptiles such as their long-necked relatives, the plesiosaurs; and dolphin-like ichthyosaurs.
How were pliosaur fossils discovered?
The discovery of the pliosaur fossil began with a walk along the beach near Kimmeridge Bay at the World Heritage Jurassic Coast, a famous site in southern England.
Steve Etches’ friend and fellow fossil enthusiast, Phil Jacobs, found the tip of a pliosaur’s snout lying on a shingle.
Since the fossil was too heavy to carry, he went to get Steve and the two of them mounted a makeshift stretcher to carry the fossil fragment to safety.
BBC StudiosThe entire excavation was carried out on ropes high above the Dorset coast.
However, where are the other parts of the animal? A drone observation of a towering cliff shows where the fossil remains might be.
The problem is, the only way to dig it out is to come down from above.
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Digging fossils out of rock is always a painstaking and complicated job. But doing it while suspended in the air on a rope from a cliff, 15 meters above the beach, requires skill.
All the courage, dedication and months of cleaning the skull were certainly worth the results.
Scientists from around the world will be vying to visit the Dorset fossils to gain new knowledge about how these amazing reptiles lived and dominated their ecosystem.
BBCTengkorak pliosaurus Jurrasic.
Paleobiologist Prof Emily Rayfield has studied the large circles on the back of the head.
From these observations, he was able to determine the size of the muscles that operated the pliosaur’s jaw, and the force generated when its mouth closed and crushed its prey.
At the high end, the creature can put out a force of around 33,000 newtons. For context, the strongest animal’s jaw is the saltwater crocodile, which is 16,000 newtons.
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“If the creature can produce a very strong bite, it can paralyze the prey; it is unlikely to escape. A strong bite means the creature can also chew tissue and bone quite effectively,” explained the researcher from Bristol.
“In terms of feeding strategy: crocodiles clamp down on prey with their jaws and then twist, to pull on the prey’s limbs. This is typical of animals that have large heads at the back, and we see this in pliosaurs.”
BBC/Tony Jolliffe These small holes are part of the animal’s sensory system
This newly discovered specimen has body parts that suggest it had very acute and very useful senses.
Its snout is dotted with tiny holes that may be glands to help it detect changes in water pressure triggered by potential prey.
And in its head there is a hole that houses the parietal eye or third eye. Lizards, frogs and some fish living today have them.
This part of the body is light-sensitive and may have helped locate other animals, especially when pliosaurs emerged from deep, murky waters.
BBC/Tony Jolliffe The Kimmeridge Clay Cliffs in Dorset, England, were once the lowest layer of mud in the Jurassic sea.
Steve Etches will display the skull next year at his museum in Kimmeridge in the Etches Collection.
The fossil has several vertebrae emerging at the back of the head but not visible on some of the bones.
They are clues that point to the potential for more fossils remaining within the cliffs. Steve was eager to continue what he had started.
“I would have risked my life, the remains of the animal were there,” he told BBC News.
“And it really had to be removed because it’s in a very rapidly eroding environment. Parts of this cliff line will slowly disappear every year.
“And it won’t be long before the fossilized remains of pliosaurs fall off and are lost. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Additional reporting by Rebecca Morelle and Tony Jolliffe
See also the video ‘The Hunt for the Loch Ness Monster ‘Nessie’ Has Been Done, Results?’:
(ita/ita)
2023-12-18 07:00:05
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