It might resemble a crocodile. But in comparison, this monster’s jaw was twice as powerful. It ate fish lizards and had 130 long and razor-sharp teeth. The skull that was recently found belonged to a Pliosaurus. This genus was in many ways as scary and fearsome as Tyrannosaurus Rex was on land. And some experts call it the ultimate killing machine. It could kill prey with just a single bite. – I think it could have killed almost anything, says Dr. Andre Rowe from Bristol University to BBC News. The fossil is said to be one of the most complete specimens of its type ever discovered, the website continues. And the skull is longer than a normal tall person. In ecstasy It was fossil enthusiast Phil Jacobs who saw the animal’s snout sticking out of the sand on a beach in Dorset, in the south of England. This site is known for its prehistoric fossils. Jacobs quickly contacted his good friend and paleontologist Steve Etches. And together with others, Etches has worked hard to get the fossil to safety. Because it was only the snout that was lying on the beach – the rest of the fossil was in a huge rock wall nearby. They spent about three weeks chiseling the skull out of the rock. – It is a miracle that we got it out, says Etches. Here you can see the skull of the newly discovered pliosaurus. The researchers believe the specimen is one of the most well-preserved ever found. Photo: BBC Studios The local palaeontologist believes there is no similar specimen anywhere else in the world, and says it is one of the wildest things he has ever been a part of. – This is one of the best fossils I have ever worked with. What makes it unique is that it is complete, says Etches to BBC News. He is supported by a Norwegian palaeontologist. Not a dinosaur The new find is from the Jurassic period. And although the name might indicate that this was a dinosaur, that is not true. – The pliosaurs belong to the animal group that we often call swan lizards in Norwegian. They were a separate, large group of reptiles that lived in the sea at the time when the dinosaurs ruled the land. So says paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Lene Liebe Delsett. The new discovery could be a completely new genus within the species, experts believe. Photo: BBC Studios – The swan lizards, and among them the pliosaurs, had ancestors on land, but lived their entire lives in the sea. They breathed with lungs, were evenly warm and gave birth to live young under water. Delsett agrees that the special thing about this find is how incredibly complete the skull is, and how well the bones are preserved. Lene Liebe Delsett says the newly discovered fossil is fantastically beautiful. Photo: Martin Ødegaard Want to find the body After the skull had been taken care of, the experts began to wonder where the rest of the body of the huge reptile could be. And with the help of a drone, they may have found the answer. Because it is quite likely that the body is also inside the cliffs on the beach. But in order to dig it out, you have to rappel down from the top. This means that the intricate work must more or less be done from the air, approximately 15 meters above the beach. – In that case, this discovery will only be even more spectacular. But you never know how much more there is until you actually dig and check, says Lene Liebe Delsett. Furthermore, the Norwegian palaeontologist says that fossils of two pliosaurs have also been found on Svalbard. – They are huge, but nowhere near as well preserved as this one. Together, they provide more knowledge about life in the sea during the Jurassic period. On New Year’s Day, a documentary about the new discovery, with David Attenborough himself in the lead, will be broadcast on the BBC.
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Found intact head of a pliosaur in Dorset in the UK – called the ultimate killing machine – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
