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submitted 11 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

The skull of a colossal sea monster has been extracted from the cliffs of Dorset's Jurassic Coast.

It belongs to a pliosaur, a ferocious marine reptile that terrorised the oceans about 150 million years ago.

The 2m-long fossil is one of the most complete specimens of its type ever discovered and is giving new insights into this ancient predator.

The skull will be featured in a special David Attenborough programme on BBC One on New Year's Day.

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[-] fhek@lemmy.dbzer0.com 38 points 11 months ago
[-] RePsyche@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago

20-40 ft long. Would have been epic to see one alive. Tho’ possibly also relatively brief.

[-] MutilationWave@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

Up to 70 feet according to the BBC article.

[-] Rapidcreek@reddthat.com 25 points 11 months ago

"He's a big boy"

~ Steve Irwin

[-] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 17 points 11 months ago

I wonder how many other skulls like this protruded from the cliffs, terrorizing seafarers of days gone by? Another possible contribution to our tales of the sea perhaps?

What an amazing find.

[-] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Lewis and Clark saw some serious shit on their trip across the US and back. It would have been something to see a 70-foot-long fish fossil in the middle of what is now Kansas, while having no clue how that was even possible.

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 0 points 11 months ago

It went extinct 150 million years ago so I don't think it can have possibly bothered mariners of the past.

[-] protist@mander.xyz 15 points 11 months ago

Imagine that thing swimming toward you with its mouth open

[-] qooqie@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

Any dinosaur sea creature swimming towards me would make the water around me brown

[-] Ultragramps@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 11 months ago

Learning from the noble squid, I see.

[-] optissima@lemmynsfw.com 0 points 11 months ago

You need to meet with your Dr or change your diet.

[-] ShootBANGdang@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 months ago

Some people are into that. Not me. Some people tho

[-] protist@mander.xyz 1 points 11 months ago

Do it for science

[-] kellyaster@kbin.social 11 points 11 months ago

It's hard to believe how well it's preserved. They're never this complete! It sounds like they might look for the rest of the skeleton, which will be exposed and lost to erosion anyway if it is there. If we're lucky, we'll also find clues about its eating habits, which isn't out of the realm of probability considering how intact they found the skull. Truly remarkable, I really want to see that upcoming Attenborough documentary.

[-] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

It's wild to think about how many incredible fossils are out there right now, buried deep and not currently in a place that is being eroded so that we happen to stumble on them during our incredibly tiny slice of geological time.

[-] Somethingcheezie@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

Eating habits. Anything it wants to eat.

[-] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 11 months ago

A speedboat style crocodile, fuck everything about it. And it can climb mountains? Nope!

[-] wolfylow@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Steve Etches will put the skull on display next year at his museum in Kimmeridge - the Etches Collection.

I love that they’re going to display this in the local museum!

[-] Maeve@kbin.social 3 points 11 months ago
[-] ivanafterall@kbin.social 1 points 11 months ago
[-] Maeve@kbin.social 1 points 11 months ago

Wasn’t Behemoth a land animal?

this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2023
275 points (99.6% liked)

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