Palaeontology

Ancient sea monster was the size of a bus

By T.K. Randall
May 26, 2017 ·  3 comments
This enormous marine reptile, which was a type of short-necked plesiosaur, had a set of huge teeth and powerful jaws that would have made it one of the top ocean predators of its time.

Its name, Luskhan itilensis, literally means 'Master Spirit from the Volga river' - a reference to the location at which its 5 foot-long skull was originally unearthed.

This "highly unusual" extinct sea-dwelling reptile has been discovered in Russia https://t.co/u6hLdG5ms3

— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 26, 2017

At an estimated 21ft in length it wasn't the largest of the plesiosaurs (some of them grew up to 49ft), however its physical features included a peculiar mishmash of traits from other species, meaning that its discovery could serve to rewrite the book on the evolution of marine reptiles in general.

Its long, slim snout in particular made it look more like a river dolphin than a plesiosaur.

"This is the most striking feature, as it suggests that pliosaurs colonized a much wider range of ecological niches than previously assumed," said study lead author Valentin Fischer.

Source: Yahoo! News | Comments (3)

Tags: Prehistoric, Sea Monster