#pliosaurid

[samkuchingdraws]

Evening Surf

Thalassophonea Thalassophobia Thalassophilia

Art Print | RedBubble Shop

Also, anyone remember this dude from 'Walking With Dinosaurs'?

(and I just realised this was probably from after one of the most traumatic TV moments I have seen in my life)

[libion]

Liopleurodon

One of my favorite animals of mesozoic

(Probably has anatomical errors)

[dinodorks]

“The most fearsome predator of the Jurassic is watching his prey. Peering through the water, the carnivore fixes on his unwary victim, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.”

[mucholderthen]

THE WEYMOUTH BAY PLIOSAUR: Pliosaurus kevani Benson et al., 2013 Animalia > Chordata > Sauropsida > Sauropterygia >      Plesiosauria > Pliosauridae > ...

Well-preserved giant pliosaurid skull from the Late Jurassic  Kimmeridge Clay Formation of Dorset, United Kingdom Length: 10 m

Pliosaurus kevani was named in honour of Kevan Sheehan, the Osmington Mills café owner who collected most of the skull, piece by piece, over a period of eight years during daily walks along the foreshore. Kevan collected chunks up to 60 kg in mass as they weathered out from the Jurassic aged Kimmeridge Clay Formation sea-cliff. (via Plesiosaur Bites)

Described in: Benson RBJ, Evans M, Smith AS, Sassoon J, Moore-Faye S, et al. (2013):  A Giant Pliosaurid Skull from the Late Jurassic of England. PLoS ONE 8(5): e65989. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0065989

Pliosaurids were Mesozoic ocean predators, some of which achieved giant sizes greater than 12 metres long.

They had a global distribution and spanned approx. 110 million years, from the Early Jurassic until the early Late Cretaceous. However, their fossils are best known from the Late Jurassic Oxford and Kimmeridge Clay formations of England.

Pliosaurids form part of a larger clade of marine reptiles, Plesiosauria, characterized by highly plastic body proportions, and including extremely long-necked taxa such as Elasmosaurus, as well as short-necked, large-skulled taxa informally termed ‘pliosauromorphs’.

[1]  Illustrator's visualization: Pliosaurus kevani | Spinops [Norbu Tamara] [2]  Illustrated phylogenetic diagram. Whale is present only for size comparison.  New Scientist / "Real Sea Monsters" - read the article ...    [3]  Maximum skull length of Jurassic–Cretaceous pliosaurids.  PLoS ONE 8(5): e65989 [4]  Plesiosaur Bites: "The Weymouth Bay Pliosaur"

See also "A Giant Pliosaurid Skull from the Late Jurassic of England" (at Species New to Science)