World's largest jaws found on Jurassic Coast
Fossilised skull of what could have belonged to largest marine reptile that ever lived found on Dorset's Jurassic Coast
Tuesday, 27, Oct 2009 11:32
By Matthew Champion.
The fossilised skull of what could have belonged to the largest marine reptile that ever lived has been found on Dorset's Jurassic Coast.
The 2m pliosaur skull, extracted over several years by an amateur fossil hunter on Weymouth Bay, is believed to include the biggest jaws found in Britain, possibly the world.
Click here to see a larger photo of the skull
Pliosaurs, which roamed the seas 155 million years ago, would have had a bite powerful enough to snap a car in two, palaeontologists say.
The Weymouth Bay skull is thought to have belonged to a larger pliosaur - usually 12m in length - than the headless remains found at Svalbard in northern Norway several years ago.
Dr David Martill of Portsmouth University commented: "This is one of the largest, if not the largest, pliosaur skull found anywhere in the world and contains features that have not been seen before. It could be a species new to science."
Fossil sleuth Kevan Sheehan, who recovered the 90 per cent complete skull, explained: "In 40 years of collecting, I have often been green with envy at some of the finds other people have made. But now when someone shows me a find, I can say: 'that's not a fossil... this pliosaur, that's a fossil!'"
Richard Edmonds, earth science manager for the Jurassic Coast world heritage site, added: "Kevan has done a fantastic job, rescuing this huge fossil over several years. Without his efforts, the specimen would have been lost to the sea."
The fossil, including the lower jaw and upper skull, has been purchased by Dorset county council for £20,000 in funding obtained from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
It is soon to go on permanent display in Dorset county museum in Dorchester.