The skull of a prehistoric sea monster so large it could make mincemeat of a T Rex has been unearthed on the Dorset coast.The ferocious creature, called a pliosaur, terrorised the oceans 150million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs.Experts say the 8ft-long skull is so big it could have belonged to one of the largest pliosaurs ever found – a monstrous predator measuring more than 52 foot in length.
The remains were found by a fossil hunter along the World Heritage Jurassic Coast, a 95-mile stretch of beach and cliff between Dorset and East Devon. The exact location near Charmouth in Dorset has been kept secret to stop others raiding the spot.Pliosaurs were a form of plesiosaur – a group of giant aquatic reptiles – with short necks and huge, crocodile-like heads.The creatures were vicious hunters, whose four paddle-like limbs, powerful jaws and huge, razor- sharp teeth made quick work of passing prey.Dr Richard Forrest, a plesiosaur expert, said: ‘Seeing this thing in the flesh, so to speak, is just jaw dropping.
It is simply enormous and truly monstrous. This was the top level predator of its day.Its jaw was designed to deliver a bite so powerful that it could have ripped a car in half with no problem.It could have taken a human in one gulp. In fact, something like a T Rex would have been breakfast for a beast like this.’Scientists believe the specimen could be one of the largest pliosaurs yet found, rivalling recent finds in Svalbard, Norway, where beasts dubbed The Monster and Predator X were thought to measure 49ft.
The skull, which is 90 per cent complete, was painstakingly unearthed piece by piece over eight years by local fossil hunter Kevan Sheehan, 40.He found the first of the 25 bones in 2000.
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