Top 5 most terrifying species of 'ocean monsters' just revealed in the past year

In 2023, a series of prehistoric ocean monsters have emerged.

1. Chinese monster "born from the dead"

252 million years ago, Earth experienced the worst tragedy in the planet's history: the Triassic extinction, which caused 96% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrates to disappear.

The ocean monster Hupehsuchus nanchangensis was conceived during that tumultuous time.

Hupehsuchus nanchangensis - (Photo: SCI-NEWS).

A study published in 2023 by the China Geological Survey and Professor Michael Benton from the University of Bristol (UK) recreated the strange characteristics of the creature found in Hubei province - China in the form of a surprisingly intact fossil.

This species is believed to have emerged about 3 million years after the mass extinction, when the Earth was still recovering.

It had a pelican-like beak, a dinosaur-like body but fin-like legs, and belonged to a previously unknown group of marine reptiles closely related to ichthyosaurs.

2. "Dragon-bodied" mosasaur in America

A sea monster named Sarabosaurus dahli  suddenly appeared in the middle of Glen Canyon National Park in Utah - USA, identified as a mosasaur species never known in the world. Mosasaurs are giant prehistoric marine reptiles, super "killers".

Sarabosaurus dahli - (Photo: SCITECH DAILY).

This new creature is 94 million years old, has a fairly round front half like other mosasaurs, but a relatively elongated back half, like the bodies of legendary dragons.

3. "Ancestor" of fish dragon

Ichthyosaurs, or ichthyosaurs , were one of the most common groups of marine reptiles of the ocean monster of the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods.

The world's oldest ichthyosaur - (Photo: SCITECH DAILY).

A specimen of well-preserved vertebrae published in 2023 showed that the species was much "older" than dinosaurs and was also "born from the dead" like the Chinese sea monster.

It comes from the Vikinghøgda Formation on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, which is estimated to be 250 million years old.

4. "The Demon Lord" bit a 6m long sea monster in half with one blow.

A Tanystropheus hydroides, a giant marine reptile that lived 240 million years ago, was unearthed at the Monte San Giorgio 'fossil mine' on the border of Switzerland and Italy. But that's not the most amazing thing.

The mysterious "ghost lord" who massacred the giant sea monster - (Photo: Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History).

The fossil of the animal was broken in two, which according to a research team from the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History (Germany) was caused by a fatal bite from an unidentified species.

Whatever animal killed the Tanystropheus hydroides, it must have been an extremely terrifying "ocean lord", because Tanystropheus hydroides was already 6 meters long and was a formidable killer of the ancient ocean.

5. "The Ultimate Jurassic Killer"

It is unclear how the aforementioned 'ghost lord' and the gruesome skull found on the coast of Dorset, England, are related. One thing is certain: Both are unimaginably horrifying.

"The ultimate Jurassic killer" still has many mysteries - (Photo: BCC).

In 2023, British scientists discovered and studied a sea monster skull up to 2m long, which according to paleontologists from the University of Bristol (UK), belongs to an unidentified species.

This giant skull still has 130 teeth intact, each one is as sharp and dangerous as a knife. It is estimated that this animal must have been up to 12m long and very dangerous, so scientists nicknamed it "the ultimate killer of the Jurassic period" .