A wealth of fossils in the Arctic has been discovered by Norwegian researchers. These reptiles were once the top predators living in the deep sea. This includes a rare predator described as the “Tyrannosaurus Rex of the oceans”.The 150-million-year-old fossils were uncovered on the Arctic island chain of Svalbard - about halfway between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole.
The discovery of a gigantic pliosaur, nicknamed The Monster, was one of the most remarkable discoveries of the expedition.
Its skeleton has dinner-plate-sized neck vertebrae, and the lower jaw has teeth as big as bananas.
The skeleton is not yet fully excavated, but its skull is about 3m long, suggesting the body could be more than 8m from the tip of its nose to its tail.
"What's amazing here is that it looks like we have a complete skeleton. No other complete pliosaur skeletons are known anywhere in the world," said Dr Hurum.
Link & Image: BBC & Daily Mail
Tags: Dinosaur | Pliosaur | Sea | Nature
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