The skull of a huge sea creature has been found off the cliffs in Dorset, UK. Don’t worry, the Loch Ness monster hasn’t just gone for a long swim, we already know which creature this skull belongs to.
The remains are from a pliosaur, a marine reptile that roamed the seas around 150 million years ago. The fossil is one of the most complete of its kind and is expected to give researchers new insights into this apex predator.
“It’s one of the best fossils I’ve ever worked with. What makes it unique is that it’s complete,” paleontologist Steve Etches told BBC News. “The lower jaw and upper jaw are joined together, as they would be in the living. There are hardly any specimens in the world that are so detailed. And if you do, many of the pieces are missing, whereas this, although slightly distorted, has all the bones in place.”
The researcher has no doubt that this animal would have been an underwater equivalent of a T-Rex. It is said to have had a bite force of around 33,000 newtons, which is twice that of a saltwater crocodile.
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2023-12-11 11:06:25
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