One of my all time favourite Marine Reptiles a Pliosaurus by the name of Predator X has finally been given a species name . Pliosaurus funkei is known from a partial skull, a complete flipper and some assorted remains, including a section of vertebra of two individuals was excavated in mid-2008 in Svalbard, near the Arctic, by a Norwegian team led by Dr. Jørn Hurum.[7] It is claimed by researchers to be the "most fearsome animal ever to swim in the oceans."[8][7] The remains were discovered in June 2006 during a two-week expedition led by Dr. Hurum of the Natural History Museum at the University of Oslo. The team found 20,000 fragments of the creature's skeleton, which is being preserved and assembled at the museum. Due to the distribution pattern of pliosaurs, scientist believe that species were cosmopolitan, like some groups of modern-day whales.[9]
Using Liopleurodon, another large pliosaurid, as a guide, the Svalbard specimen had been estimated to have been 15 metres (49 ft) long, 45,000 kilograms (99,000 lb) in weight and had teeth 30 centimetres (12 in) long.[10][11] The jaws of the creature may have been able to exert more force than those of a Tyrannosaurus rex,[7] with one news source stating the bite was over 10 times more powerful than any modern animal and four times more powerful than that of a Tyrannosaurus.[12] It is estimated to have lived approximately 147 million years ago.[13] Analysis of bones from the four flippers suggest that the animal cruised using just two fore-flippers, using the back pair for extra speed when pursuing and capturing prey. P. funkei's brain was of a similar type and size, proportionally, to that of today's great white shark, the team says.[11] Later on, thorough scrutiny of this Svalbard specimen revealed that it was not as massive as originally claimed; total length estimate have been revised to 10.0–12.8 metres (32.8–42.0 ft).[14]
Using Liopleurodon, another large pliosaurid, as a guide, the Svalbard specimen had been estimated to have been 15 metres (49 ft) long, 45,000 kilograms (99,000 lb) in weight and had teeth 30 centimetres (12 in) long.[10][11] The jaws of the creature may have been able to exert more force than those of a Tyrannosaurus rex,[7] with one news source stating the bite was over 10 times more powerful than any modern animal and four times more powerful than that of a Tyrannosaurus.[12] It is estimated to have lived approximately 147 million years ago.[13] Analysis of bones from the four flippers suggest that the animal cruised using just two fore-flippers, using the back pair for extra speed when pursuing and capturing prey. P. funkei's brain was of a similar type and size, proportionally, to that of today's great white shark, the team says.[11] Later on, thorough scrutiny of this Svalbard specimen revealed that it was not as massive as originally claimed; total length estimate have been revised to 10.0–12.8 metres (32.8–42.0 ft).[14]