Tuesday, October 27, 2009 | Science : Earth Sciences | print version

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Colossal 'sea monster' unearthed

by Rebecca Morelle - BBC Earth News

Thanks to rod-the-farmer for the link.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8322000/8322629.stm

The fossilised skull of a colossal "sea monster" has been unearthed along the UK's Jurassic Coast.

The ferocious predator, which is called a pliosaur, terrorised the oceans 150 million years ago.

The skull is 2.4m long, and experts say it could belong to one of the largest pliosaurs ever found: measuring up to 16m in length.

The fossil, which was found by a local collector, has been purchased by Dorset County Council.

It was bought with money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and it will now be scientifically analysed, prepared and then put on public display at Dorset County Museum.

Palaeontologist Richard Forrest told the BBC: "I had heard rumours that something big was turning up. But seeing this thing in the flesh, so to speak, is just jaw dropping. It is simply enormous."

Pliosaurs were a form of plesiosaur, a group of giant aquatic reptiles that dominated the seas around the same time that dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

They had short necks and huge, crocodilian-like heads that contained immensely powerful jaws and a set of huge, razor-sharp teeth.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8322000/8322629.stm

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Posted: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 | Permalink

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1. Comment #427344 by Sally Luxmoore on October 27, 2009 at 5:04 pm

"Compared to this, T Rex was just a kitten"

Wow!
I have been fossil hunting in this area, and was ridiculously pleased with my little ammonites and belemnites... They sort of pale into insignificance next to this...

This is the area where Mary Anning found her fossils, many of which are now prize specimens in the Natural History Museum in London.

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2. Comment #427348 by TIKI AL on October 27, 2009 at 5:12 pm

"It could take a T-Rex in one gulp." Oh really?

In a land battle my money is on Mr T.

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3. Comment #427355 by Muetze on October 27, 2009 at 5:20 pm

The Tyrannosaurus comparisons would be stupid even if they were accurate. A simple look on Wikipedia will tell you that the bigest specimen of T.Rex ever found was close to 13 meters in length. Hardly a kitten when compared to a 16 meter ... marine reptile.

I bet in two hundred million years the post-human civilisation equivalent of the BBC will be pitching fossilised tigers against fossilised great white sharks in imaginary battles.

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4. Comment #427356 by mordacious1 on October 27, 2009 at 5:21 pm

The big news here is the condition of the skull, not necessarily the size of the pliosaur. As the article states, there have been pliosaurs of this size found elsewhere. Hopefully, the rest of the fossil is in the same condition.

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5. Comment #427358 by mordacious1 on October 27, 2009 at 5:25 pm

I think the "kitten" reference is based on skull size. The T rex at 1.5m and the pliosaur at 2.4m, the business end, so to speak.

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6. Comment #427364 by Fuzzy Duck on October 27, 2009 at 5:42 pm

It's discoveries like this that make me want to go dig up fossils. Not that I'm counting on discovering one of the largest pliosaurs known, but to paraphrase Sir David Attenborough, there's something so wonderful and spine-tingling about being the first human to lay your eyes on a fossil since it was deposited millions of years ago.

Kevin

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7. Comment #427367 by TIKI AL on October 27, 2009 at 6:03 pm

Fuzzy Duck @ 6: I know that feeling. Like when I was cleaning the garage and stumbled on my Elvis 45 of "Hound Dog" that went missing a half century ago.

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8. Comment #427369 by Sciros on October 27, 2009 at 6:17 pm

Yeah these are sweet. I wonder if they ever ran into these guys -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tylosaurus -- and what that would have looked like. A recent program on Mosasaurs made them out to be very well equipped to tackle Plesiosaurs because of their maneuverability and the kind of bite their jaws produced (a saw-like motion).

I recently visited the AMNH, and saw the big Mosasaur skeleton there. Would be cool to see a Pliosaur one at some point.

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9. Comment #427371 by Alan C. on October 27, 2009 at 6:19 pm

It could have taken a human in one gulp

150 million years ago? Methinks not :-)

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10. Comment #427378 by Apathy personified on October 27, 2009 at 6:45 pm

Hopefully over the next few years more of the skeleton will emerge from the rocks.

TIKI AL,

In a land battle my money is on Mr T.

Indeed, I pity the fool who thinks otherwise.

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11. Comment #427395 by bamboospitfire on October 27, 2009 at 7:59 pm

Just to correct the mis-quotation above, the comment was, in fact:

"It could have taken a human in one gulp; in fact, something like a T. Rex would have been breakfast for a beast like this."

Does anyone here eat their breakfast in one gulp?

Ultimately, for some perspective in the other direction, the thing was still less than half as long as a big Blue Whale.

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12. Comment #427398 by Prankster on October 27, 2009 at 8:06 pm

I saw something on "Walking with Dinosaurs" about 10 years ago called a Lipleurodon-still only about 50 ft long though, and still a relative tiddler to something like a Blue Whale-ah! Bamboospitfire got there first...

Bu to experience the tingle from finding a fossil like this must be amazing

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13. Comment #427401 by Degsy on October 27, 2009 at 8:18 pm

Am I mistaken, but was there not a contrary idea posited about the ferocious carnivorous nature of the T. Rex some years ago. The idea was that, far from being the malevolent hunting machine we imagined it to be, the true nature of this beast was that of an opportune scavenger.

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14. Comment #427405 by TIKI AL on October 27, 2009 at 8:34 pm

Apathy @ 10: Good one. And if Mr. T stumbled onto one of these he might say: "Hey, you with the teeth..."
...from "Be Somebody or Be Somebody's Fool" (1984)
("Do you know me? Of course you do. 'Cause I'm famous!")

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15. Comment #427407 by elise97 on October 27, 2009 at 8:37 pm

prankster, yes i saw that, it was called 'sea monsters' presented by nigel marven. according to the book of the series, liopleurordon, the biggest known pliosaur, was thought to have maxed out at 25 metres (80 feet) going on tooth marks found on bones. it was possibly the largest predator of all time, although thats only slightly bigger than a bull sperm whale that can grow to 20 metres!

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16. Comment #427420 by mordacious1 on October 27, 2009 at 9:19 pm

13. Comment #427401 by Degsy

Am I mistaken, but was there not a contrary idea posited about the ferocious carnivorous nature of the T. Rex some years ago. The idea was that, far from being the malevolent hunting machine we imagined it to be, the true nature of this beast was that of an opportune scavenger.

Yes, paleontologists have been arguing about this for quite some time. The scavenger idea is best promoted by Jack Horner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Horner_(paleontologist)

Bu most paleontologists accept that Tyrannosaurus was both an active predator and a scavenger like all large carnivores. If you look at its bipedalism (IMHO, a sign of speed, though Horner argues this isn't true) and its obvious ability to grapple prey with its large jaws, it would be difficult to argue for it only being a scavenger (though Horner does).

[edit] oops, that link goes to all Jack Horners, including the one in the corner...you have to pick "paleontologist.:0

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17. Comment #427429 by Graeme on October 27, 2009 at 9:54 pm

Interestingly enough, this was found not that far along the same beach in Charmouth (my home village), that Richard visited with some school children to look for fossils while filming for "The genius of Charles Darwin"..,,

On a slightly sadder, more annoying note, I followed a heading on the BBC link above "from other sites" to "The Plesiosaur site"...
(as I am the proud finder of various bits of fossiled bone, mainly ichthyosaur vertabrae,...) I and found an interesting and informative little site run by one guy in his spare time, and read that even he has to waste his time and effort dealing with hate mail from creationists..
What is the matter with these people!

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18. Comment #427435 by Southpaw on October 27, 2009 at 10:18 pm

"In a land battle my money is on Mr T."

Pish, man. You're obviously forgetting about Chuck Norris.

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19. Comment #427441 by Jos Gibbons on October 27, 2009 at 10:34 pm

This creature may not have the size of a certain largely krill-munching filter feeder, but I know which would scare me more if I was in the sea. Jaws has nothing on a creature like ... wait, is this pliosaur actually named in the article? (Skim-reads again) No. Damn! I guess some science reporters thinking "it's a monster" is a more useful description than a bit of Latin.

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20. Comment #427442 by TIKI AL on October 27, 2009 at 10:35 pm

Southpaw @ 18: You mean the Chuck Norris that said during the Obama election, "If I was president, I would tattoo an American flag on the forehead of every atheist in America"?

Mr T would kick his rightwing godbot ass, and then strangle him with his gold bling.

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21. Comment #427451 by j.mills on October 27, 2009 at 10:59 pm

When the thread reaches a discussion of who would win between Mr T and Chuck Norris, perhaps enough has been said...

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22. Comment #427452 by Border Collie on October 27, 2009 at 10:59 pm

I've forgotten, was it Yahweh or Satan who buried these to test our faith?

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23. Comment #427464 by mordacious1 on October 28, 2009 at 12:22 am

Border

I saw Richard with a shovel and a sack of rocks in Berkeley...

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24. Comment #427466 by Alternative Carpark on October 28, 2009 at 12:27 am

So how big is a full-size blue whale's skull?

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25. Comment #427475 by j.mills on October 28, 2009 at 12:57 am

I remember that a blue whale's penis is the size of a phone box. Tends to stick in the mind more than skull size...

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26. Comment #427481 by Laurie Fraser on October 28, 2009 at 1:20 am

Stop press! Atheist has blue whale penis embedded in brain!

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27. Comment #427491 by j.mills on October 28, 2009 at 1:43 am

Modesty prevents me telling you how big my brain is, but obviously it's bigger than a blue whale's penis...

(Now.)

(And don't ask how the damn thing got in there. It's hard to swallow.)

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28. Comment #427493 by Fall\'s Profit on October 28, 2009 at 1:45 am

I've forgotten, was it Yahweh or Satan who buried these to test our faith?

It is kind of like the half full or half empty glass question. Depends if you are talking to a pessimist Christian or an optimistic one.

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29. Comment #427510 by weavehole on October 28, 2009 at 4:03 am

I bet in two hundred million years the post-human civilisation equivalent of the BBC will be pitching fossilised tigers against fossilised great white sharks in imaginary battles.

Wasnt this in a Simpson's/Family Guy episode?

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30. Comment #427572 by Peacebeuponme on October 28, 2009 at 11:35 am

Weavehole

Wasnt this in a Simpson's/Family Guy episode?

I belive Bart managed to secure peace between religions and subsequently became a prophet. Thousands of years later we hear a conversation between two warring factions which said something like:

"We believe that Bart spread a message of Peace and Love."

"No, we believe that He spread a message of Love and Unity."

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31. Comment #427922 by Degsy on October 29, 2009 at 12:22 pm

mordacious1@ 16- Thanks for the link. Very interesting.

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32. Comment #427932 by weavehole on October 29, 2009 at 12:46 pm

Peacebeuponme

hehe, haven't seen that one. Sounds about right though.

Upon further investigation, I was thinking of Lance Murdock.

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