Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com – Scientists have discovered bone fragments of a giant, horrifying Jurassic sea predator in Poland. The ancient sea monster measured up 30 feet long and lived about 150 million years ago.
The extinct Pliosauroids, also commonly known as pliosaurs a group of large carnivorous marine reptiles characterized by massive heads, short necks, and streamlined tear-shaped bodies. These giant animals roamed the Earth along with dinosaurs.
Credit: Piotr Szczepaniak
The bones of this fearsome pliosaur were found by paleontologists in the north of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, in the village of Krzyżanowice in Poland. Discoveries in the form of the remains of Jurassic pliosaurs are very rare. This is an extraordinary and unique find.
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According to paleontologist Dr. Daniel Tyborowski from the Museum of the Earth of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw who was one the discoverers, the pliosaurs “measured over 10 meters in length and could weigh up to several dozen tons. They had powerful, large skulls and massive jaws with large, sharp teeth. Their limbs were in the form of fins.”
“In Europe, they have been discovered only in a few countries, never before in Poland,” said Dr. Tyborowski in an interview with Science in Poland.
These terrifying sea monsters had massive fearsome jaws that could tear through the bodies of large animals. They consumed not only fish and turtles but also large crocodiles.
Credit: Daniel Tyborowski, Dariusz Nast
Pliosaurs were present in the seas of Europe and South America. In the late Jurassic period, Poland’s southern region was an archipelago of tropical islands. The region had warm lagoons and shallow sea reservoirs, making it a great environment for the marine reptiles discovered by the Polish science team.
In addition to pliosaur bones, paleontologists also discovered several other animal species from the same era. There are also plesiosaurs (long-necked cousins of pliosaurs), turtles and ancestors of modern-day crocodiles; those from Krzyżanowice reached 6 meters in length. In total, several hundred bone remains were counted. Researchers say this accumulation of Jurassic fossils is also unique in the world.
Written by Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com Staff