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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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14

Fossil Hunter Finds Giant Sea Monster

Colossal pliosaur was big enough to snack on T. Rex

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(Newser) – A sea monster big enough to have munched on T. Rex has been found by an amateur fossil collector scouring Britain's south coast. The collector gathered chunks of the prehistoric beast's 8-foot-long skull as they fell from a cliff face over several years. Paleontologists believe the pliosaur skull is the largest and most complete ever discovered.

"These things were powerful enough to bite a small car in half," a paleontologist told the Independent. "It would take a human in one gulp. Compared to this beast, T. Rex was a kitten." Experts believe the rest of the creature, whose length from tip to tail is estimated to be at least 50 feet, remains embedded in the cliff.

Paleontologist Richard Forrest with the jaw bone of a fossilized pliosaur found on the southern coast of England.
Paleontologist Richard Forrest with the jaw bone of a fossilized pliosaur found on the southern coast of England.   (AP Photo/Chris Ison/PA Wire)
Paleontologist Richard Forrest measures the jaw bone of a fossilized pliosaur found on the southern coast of England .
Paleontologist Richard Forrest measures the jaw bone of a fossilized pliosaur found on the southern coast of England .   (AP Photo/Chris Ison/PA Wire)
Paleontologist Richard Forrest measures the jaw bone of a fossilized pliosaur found on the southern coast of England.
Paleontologist Richard Forrest measures the jaw bone of a fossilized pliosaur found on the southern coast of England.   (AP Photo/Chris Ison/PA Wire)
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14 comments
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zackmasson
Oct 28, 09 2:39 AM CDT
ooo i'd like to see the finished specimen. Reply
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+1
Netstorm2k9
Oct 28, 09 3:16 AM CDT
I can't of anything funny to say about this. Reply
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0
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Netstorm2k9
Oct 28, 09 3:17 AM CDT
Think!
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drlarrymitchell
Oct 28, 09 5:16 AM CDT
His next mission is to locate a the enigmatic Lickalottapuss.
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+4
Netstorm2k9
Oct 28, 09 3:18 AM CDT
How many people's peripheral vision inserted the Think from the bottom line into the top sentence? I'm hoping everyone. Reply
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+1

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