After a startling discovery in southern England, scientists investigate the skull of what could be one of the largest marine predators ever discovered. Both fossils are the remains of what could be the biggest and deadliest predator that ever ruled the seas, and hold the key to a world beneath the waves million years ago. Predator X follows the expedition every step of the way, from the painstaking field research to the astonishing find of the amazing pliosaur. COP World agrees to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies and reduce coal Paralysed mice walk again after gel is injected into spinal cord How Minecraft is helping children with autism make new friends Will a scramble to mine metals undermine the clean energy revolution?
Origins of Japanese and Turkish language family traced back years. COP People from climate-ravaged regions say we need action now Birds in the Amazon are adapting to climate change by getting smaller. Experts estimated that an ancient Jurassic-era ocean filled with giant predators. In , scientists unearthed two massive pliosaur skeletons in Svalbard, Norway, a string of islands halfway between Europe and the North Pole.
The giant creatures was one of which was dubbed Predator X at the time. It looked slightly different from other pliosaurs discovered in England and France over the last century and a half.
Now, after years of painstaking analysis of the jaw, vertebrae and forelimbs, the researchers have determined that Predator X is in fact a new species. And they have officially named it for Bjorn and May-Liss Funke, volunteers who first discovered the fossils. In , scientists initially estimated that Predator X could have been up to 50 feet 15 m long. The current study suggests the creature is smaller than that, but still bigger than the largest living apex predator, the killer whale, which tops out at about 30 feet 9 m long , Druckenmiller said.
The Pliosaurus funkei fossils were just two of nearly 40 specimens discovered at the Svalbard site. Experts also describe two new ichthyosaurs, or dolphinlike reptiles, the longest-necked Jurassic-era plesiosaur on record, and several invertebrates. Together, the fossils suggest an ancient Arctic sea teeming with fearsome predators and invertebrate fauna, said expert Jorn Hurum of the University of Oslo.
According to Druckenmiller, they were not just found a new species, but they have been discovering a whole ecosystem. The pliosaurus had short necks, tear-shaped bodies and four large, paddle-shaped limbs that let them fly through the water, Druckenmiller said. The new species likely lived closer to million years ago and ate plesiosaurs, related long-necked, small-headed reptiles.
The new analysis shows Pliosaurus funkei had proportionally longer front paddles than other pliosaurus. This is as well as slightly different vertebrae shape and different spacing of teeth within the jaw, Druckenmiller said. However, a complete set of skeletons are still not found. Therefore, it will be difficult to know whether this species was any larger than estimated.
Here the nearly ton tonne pliosaur attacks a plesiosaur. Pliosaurus funkei had a bite four times as powerful as Tyrannosaurus rex; in this artist's conception, the powerful pliosaur crushes down on a plesiosaur with its 33,pound bite. The researchers estimate the creature was bigger than the largest living apex predator, the killer whale, which tops out at about 30 feet 9 meters long.
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