They say space is the last frontier, and in many ways, I think that’s probably true.
For my money, though, I bet we could meet a lot weirder (and potentially deadly) things far, far below the surface of the ocean.
After seeing the remains of this absolute beast, you might just agree.
Scientists brought the huge skull up from beneath the cliffs of Dorset in the United Kingdom. It was six feet and five inches across.
They believe it belonged to a pliosaur, a marine reptile that lived 150 million years ago.
The researchers say the fact that it’s relatively intact makes this a huge find.
“It’s one of the best fossils I’ve ever worked on. What makes it unique is it’s complete.”
The pliosaur grew to around 40 feet in length and had huge mouths full of sharp teeth. Forget sharks or orcas, Bristol University’s Andre Rowe these guys were the apex apex predator.
“The animal would have been so massive that I think it would have been able to prey effectively on anything that was unfortunate enough to be in its space. …I have no doubt that this was sort of like an underwater T-Rex.”
Their bite force along was roughly double that of a modern saltwater crocodile’s, and according to palaeobiologist Emily Rayfield, that matters.
“If you can generate a really powerful bite, you can incapacitate your prey; it’s less likely to get away. A powerful bite means you’re also able to crunch through tissue and bone quite effectively.”
Those who helped extract the skull from the cliff believe the rest of the skeleton is probably nearby.
“I stake my life the rest of the animal is there.”
And luckily the way the cliffs are eroding due to climate change, we might get to see the rest sooner rather than later.
Check out the whole story in this video:
I, for one, am just glad we’re not going to see it in real life.
So don’t go getting any ideas, scientists.