“The ultimate killing machine“, says the British broadcaster BBC, which announces the unique find to the world.
This pliosaur is considered the tyrannosaurus of the sea. The found head is two meters long. The 130 teeth measure over tens of centimeters.
Underwater version of the T-rex
The entire animal was probably 10 to 12 meters in size and, according to scientists, was at the very top of the food chain in marine life, just as the tyrannosaurus was on land. “The animal would have been able to devour anything that was unlucky enough to fall into its path,” one scientist told the BBC. “Without a doubt, this was the underwater version of the T-rex.”
It is not only the condition of the fossil that is exceptional. The story of the find is also more than remarkable. An amateur archaeologist almost tripped over part of the fossil while walking along the cliffs of Dorset’s Jurrasic Coast. He immediately called an archaeologist friend, Steve Etches, to help him secure the fossil.
Where’s the rest?
They had taken the tip of the pliosaur’s snout, but where was the rest? They were able to pinpoint a spot halfway up the cliff, 50 feet high, from where the fossil likely fell.
By abseiling, a team of archaeologists was able to further carve the unprecedentedly cool fossil out of the cliff. And there are indications that the rest of the animal’s remains must still be hidden in the rock. “I bet the rest of the animal is still in there,” Etches said.
2023-12-10 20:37:56
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