In pictures: Fossilised skull shows power of monster predator

Published on Wednesday 28 October 2009 11:41

THE fossilised skull of a giant "sea monster" has been discovered off Dorset's Jurassic Coast. It comes from a pliosaur, a ferocious predator which lived in the oceans 150 million years ago.

The skull, right, which was found by a local collector, measures 2.4 metres in length, and scientists believe the creature would have been 16m long – one of the largest pliosaurs ever found. The fossil was bought by Dorset County Council for 20,000 with money from the Heritage Lottery Fund. After it has been scientifically analysed and prepared, it will be put on display in Dorchester.

The fossilised skull of a colossal "sea monster" called the Pliosaur has been unearthed by a local collector on the Jurassic Coast, Dorset.

Pliosaurs had short necks and huge, crocodilian-like heads that contained immensely powerful jaws and a set of huge, razor-sharp teeth. David Martill, a palaeontologist at the University of Portsmouth, said: "These creatures were monsters. They had massive big muscles on their necks, and you would have imagined that they would bite into the animal and get a good grip, and then, with these massive neck muscles, they probably would have thrashed the animals around and torn chunks off. It would have been a bit of a blood bath."