The big sea monster never seen

The fossil of a giant excavated sea reptile on an arctic island, belongs to the largest marine reptile that science has ever known, Norwegian scientists announced. The 150-million-year-old specimen was found in Spitspergen, on the Arctic island of Svalbard in 2006.

The giant sea monster from this Jurassic is one of the 40 sea reptiles found in the excavation hole on the island. With a length from nose to foot up to 15 meters, this creature is so big that it can grab a small car into its jaws and bite it in half.

During the last expedition to the excavation site, scientists also found traces of another lizard species considered to be the same family as the " Monster ", and could be as large as it could be. The lead researcher, Dr. Jorn Hurum, from Oslo Natural History Museum, said the specimen in Svalbard is 20% larger than the largest known reptiles. Its flippers alone are 3 meters long.

This animal belongs to a group of short-necked reptiles, living in the sea during the period of the dinosaurs. Its body is teardrop-shaped, with two very strong flippers that push it forward."They're really terrifying carnivores, " commented paleontologist Richard Forrest.

The "monster" was unearthed in July last year and taken to the Natural History Museum in Oslo. People had to peel away hundreds of tons of rocks to do that.

A preliminary analysis on bone showed that this beast belongs to a species that science has never known.

The reconstructed model of the sea " monster " found in the Arctic. (Photo: BBC)

The monster's flippers alone were 3 meters long. (Photo: BBC)