Scientists have discovered an enormous fossil of a menacing predatory marine reptile described as an "underwater T-Rex" that terrorized the oceans some 150 million years ago.
The fossilized skull of a Pliosaur was found earlier this year in a towering cliff on England's south coast. Paleontologist Steve Etches made the discovery by chance while strolling along the famous World Heritage Jurassic Coast.
"This really is the most complete Pliosaur skull that has been discovered to date," Etches said in a statement. "This is one of the best specimens you'll see."
According to the University of Portsmouth, Pliosaurs were about twice the size of a killer whale -- between 32 and 47 feet long.
"They had a massive skull with huge protruding teeth like daggers - as big, if not bigger than a T. rex, and certainly more powerful," Professor David Martill said in a statement.
The giant sea monsters are characterized by massive heads, short necks, and streamlined tear-shaped bodies with four large fins, according to Britannica.
"They were at the top of the marine food chain and probably preyed on ichthyosaurs, long-necked plesiosaurs and maybe even smaller marine crocodiles, simply by biting them in half and taking chunks off them," Martill said. "We know they were massacring smaller marine reptiles because you can see bite marks in ichthyosaur bones in examples on display."
Etches told BBC News what makes his discovery unique is its completeness.
"The lower jaw and the upper skull are meshed together, as they would be in life. Worldwide, there's hardly any specimens ever found to that level of detail. And if they are, a lot of the bits are missing, whereas this, although it's slightly distorted - it's got every bone present," he said.
The skull itself is over 6-feet long with 130 razor sharp teeth. Its powerful jaws have an estimated force of 33,000 newtons. By comparison, saltwater crocodiles have the most powerful jaws of any living animal at 16,000 newtons.
"The animal would have been so massive that I think it would have been able to prey effectively on anything that was unfortunate enough to be in its space," Andre Rowe, a Paleobiology Research Associate at Bristol University, told BBC.
The skeleton is going on display next year at the Etches Collection Museum of Jurassic Marine Life in England.