Voodoo Vince

Fossil sea monster big enough to 'bite a car'


An artist's impression of the dinosaur-era pliosaur when compared to a killer whale (top), a blue whale (centre) and a human diver. -- PHOTO: REUTERS


The fossil of the 150-million year old dinosaur-era pliosaur that was found in Artic Norway. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

OSLO - THE fossil of a 15 metre long 'sea monster' found in Arctic Norway was the biggest of its kind known to science with dagger-like teeth in a mouth large enough to bite a small car, researchers said on Wednesday.

The 150-million year old dinosaur-era pliosaur, a fierce marine reptile, was about five metres longer than the previous pliosaur record holder found in Australia.

'It's a new species and the biggest proven pliosaur,' Joern Hurum, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in Oslo who led the expedition to dig up the fossil on the archipelago of Svalbard 1,300 km from the North Pole.

'A small car could fit inside its mouth,' he told Reuters, adding the lower jaw was about three metres long.

'Something like a Morris Minor would fit perfectly.' The Museum said that pliosaurs were the top marine predators of the Jurassic era, preying upon squid-like animals, fish, and other marine reptiles.

Another type of fossil marine reptile, the ichthyosaur, was bigger at up to 23 metres. 'The pliosaur is not the biggest sea monster but it's probably the most fierce,' Mr Hurum said, adding the fossil has jagged teeth the size of cucumbers.

'The front flipper of our pliosaur alone is three metres long. We've laid it out downstairs in the basement,' he said.

Earlier estimates had been that the Norwegian pliosaur, popularly dubbed 'The Monster", was about 12 metres long, roughly as long as Australia's kronosaurus.

The Arctic find 'demonstrates that these gigantic animals inhabited the northern seas of our planet during the age of dinosaurs,' said Patrick Druckenmiller of the University of Alaska Museum who was on the expedition that found the fossil.

The Norwegian museum said that it was planning to return in mid-2008 to excavate a skull and skeleton of another gigantic pliosaur recently found near 'The Monster'. -- REUTERS

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2...ry_211316.html

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People don't plan to fail... They fail to plan.

DomoKun

sooo long.thats like 7 yao ming.

Voodoo Vince

Underwater creature. You'll never know what in there in the deep deep sea.

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People don't plan to fail... They fail to plan.

xyrho69

yea totally agree..too many unknown stuff

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haunted2

thats cool i hope they are not extinct yet =)

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Sonic Bear

wah that is like so unbelieveable!!!

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debbielmy

i get freaked out by the underwater world (not Sentosa la)

it's so dark yet colourful (if u noe wad i mean)

dull yet magnificent.

u never know what's hidden underneth all this land/water.

muN-

Randomness leads me.
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earn $$ here!

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Huaikong

ancient creatures alway entice me.majestic n big~~~~~

Voodoo Vince

And mostly blind.

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People don't plan to fail... They fail to plan.

Huaikong

'blind' beasts got superhuman instinct.haha.....

hebi

who knows this creature may still be alive today, lurking somewhere in the sea since the oceans is one place not fully explored by man.

ttyo888

The need for a big body helps to conserve heat. That why obese people like me do not like hot weather and also why rhinos and elephants are bald. By being that big, these reptiles can stay active better!

Huaikong

i myself is a big believer of loch ness monsters.haha

winni12

so huge scary

- Glen -

I am excited to see this new. Who knows what's lurking in the deep sea? It's an unexplore area of the earth, and yet people want to explore the moon and Mars.