Digging the 250 million year old sea monster in the American desert

The fossil of a sea monster capable of hunting large white sharks has been dug up in a desert in Nevada, USA.

The organism was identified after scientists dug up a 25cm long skull including large teeth and many sharp little teeth inside.

Fossils of the sea monster Birgeria americana have just been discovered in the United States.

Paleontologist Dr. Carlo Romano said this 1.8 meter long creature is similar to modern white shark. It chases, bites, and eventually devoures its prey, according to the Mirror.

Scientists named the newly discovered sea monster Birgeria americana.

Predatory monsters are similar to modern white sharks.

Dr Romano said: "The fossil was discovered in Elko County, northeastern Nevada is one of the most fully preserved vertebrate fossils during that time in the US".

Fossils were dug up from rocks dating back 251 million years, when the desert was covered by the ocean.

Thus, Birgeria americana lived a million years after the worst major extinction event in history when about 90% of organisms on Earth were wiped out.

Giant skull of aquatic monsters with sharp teeth.

According to previous studies, the marine food chain has deteriorated after this major extinction event and recovered slowly. Paleontologists believe that the first predators on the top of the food chain did not appear until about 247 to 235 million years ago.

However, the new fossil shows that the food chain recovers much faster than scientists once thought, Mirror wrote.