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The skull of a gigantic sea monster that devastated the seas almost 150 million years ago has been discovered off the coast of England.
The formidable fossil, found on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, measures almost two meters long and belonged to a marine reptile known as a pliosaur.
Known as the ‘ocean apex predator’, the ancient creature will be the subject of a new BBC documentary by David Attenborough airing on New Year’s Day.
He will be joined by a team of expert scientists and paleontologists as they embark on an excavation and restoration of the rare discovery, which they believe could be a new species of pliosaur.
The ancient pliosaur was the “ultimate killing machine”, capable of sailing across the ocean at high speed and killing its prey with a single bite.
Sir David Attenborough with fossil experts Steve Etches and Chris Moore examining the pliosaur skull in the Etches Collection Museum workshop
Restored 150 million-year-old pliosaur skull excavated from cliffs on the Jurassic Coast, Dorset
Known as the ‘ocean apex predator’, the ancient creature will be the subject of a new BBC documentary by David Attenborough airing on New Year’s Day.
The skull has about 130 long, sharp teeth. Each tooth has fine ridges on the back to pierce the flesh of its prey and prepare for a quick second attack.
Their prey were creatures resembling dolphins and other pliosaurs, scientists told the BBC.
Pliosaurs had jaws more than twice as powerful as those of today’s saltwater crocodiles.
“The animal would have been so massive that I think it would have been able to effectively hunt down anything unlucky enough to be in its space,” said Andre Rowe, a paleobiologist at the University of Bristol. bbc news.
The creatures measured between 32 and 39 feet long and propelled themselves rapidly with four powerful fin-like limbs.
“I have no doubt that this was something like an underwater T. Rex,” Rowe said.
The exciting discovery was made when fossil enthusiast Phil Jacobs was walking along the rocky beaches of Kimmeridge Bay last year when he discovered the jaw of a giant pliosaur one morning.
The site is famous for its fossils and features some of the most important geological discoveries on the Jurassic Coast.
Many of them were found by Dr Steve Etches MBE, who has spent over 30 years collecting over 2000 specimens.
Mr. Etches was later called in to evaluate the find and speculated that the rest of the skull might still be encased in the cliff above.
The ancient pliosaur was the “ultimate killing machine”, capable of sailing across the ocean at high speed and killing its prey with a single bite.
The skull has about 130 long, sharp teeth. Each tooth has fine ridges on the back to pierce the flesh of its prey and prepare for a quick second attack.
The exciting discovery was made when fossil enthusiast Phil Jacobs was walking along the rocky beaches of Kimmeridge Bay last year when he discovered the jaw of a giant pliosaur one morning.
While the avid fossil hunters have worked together for decades, they describe this particular fossil as the biggest discovery they have ever encountered.
He assembled a team of experts to excavate the rest of the fossil, including fellow fossil hunter Chris Moore, who runs a small family fossil business in Charmouth.
While the avid fossil hunters have worked together for decades, they describe this particular fossil as the biggest discovery they have ever encountered.
Dr. Etches said, “There is nothing comparable today.”
‘It is a large carnivorous reptile and one of the largest that has ever lived in the sea. It’s even bigger than a T-Rex, these are bigger and fiercer.’
After the skull was safely removed, it was taken to Mr Etches’ nearby workshop, where restoration work began. It took several months to bring him back to life.
This includes crowns molded for the skull from remains of the iconic trihedral-shaped pliosaur tooth that Mr Moore found on the cliff.
With the help of paleobiologists, visual effects sequences and digital scans, viewers will witness the height of scientific research by getting a detailed look at the life of this pliosaur and seeing how it looked, moved and hunted its prey.
Attenborough and the Sea Monster will air at 8pm on New Year’s Day on BBC One and iPlayer.
Pliosaur discovery: Gigantic skull of sea monster is found on the cliffs of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast