New UK pliosaur discovery

[DinoToyForum]

Now, this is an amazing find.

"Pliosaur discovery: Huge sea monster emerges from Dorset cliffs"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-67650247

[ceratopsian]

Nice to see there will another Attenborough documentary over the hols.

[Sim]

I'm impressed by how well preserved it is.  And it certainly looks intimidating!

[Faelrin]

Hope they can find the rest of it, before it could be potentially lost for good. Can't wait to see this get named. What an absolute beast.

[Pliosaurking]

Very exciting discovery, hopefully they get the rest of that fossil! I'm also very glad to hear about the David Attenborough documentary on the subject.

[DinoToyForum]

Very exciting discovery, hopefully they get the rest of that fossil! I'm also very glad to hear about the David Attenborough documentary on the subject.

Yes, Steve Etches is absolutely certain the rest of the skeleton is still in the rapidly eroding cliff. If it could be salvaged, as I'm sure there are plans to do, it would probably become the most complete pliosaur ever found and help answer many long-standing questions about the body proportions of pliosaurs.

[ItsTwentyBelow]

What an incredible find! Hopefully the postcranial skeleton can be recovered and is as nicely preserved!

Dr. Admin, what are the chances of you becoming a part of this research team?

[MLMjp]

Beautiful skull

[TheCambrianCrusader]

Good lord those temporal fenestrae are massive. What a gorgeous find.

[DinoToyForum]

What an incredible find! Hopefully the postcranial skeleton can be recovered and is as nicely preserved!

Dr. Admin, what are the chances of you becoming a part of this research team?

I was lucky enough to be invited as part of the collaborative team that described the skull of Pliosaurus kevani, the last major discovery like this. But I don't know what the plans are for this new specimen. All I know is what the story says, that Judyth Sassoon is working on it with colleagues in Bristol.

[DinoToyForum]

Good lord those temporal fenestrae are massive. What a gorgeous find.

And they would've been stuffed with muscles in life!

[DinoToyForum]

There is a good video about this on New Scientist: https://www.newscientist.com/video/2407737-pliosaur-discovery-on-jurassic-coast-is-very-likely-a-new-species/

[ItsTwentyBelow]

I was lucky enough to be invited as part of the collaborative team that described the skull of Pliosaurus kevani, the last major discovery like this. But I don't know what the plans are for this new specimen. All I know is what the story says, that Judyth Sassoon is working on it with colleagues in Bristol.

Things must still be in the early planning stages on this one. I suspect that you'd be a great asset if her team reaches out to you in the future. Exciting stuff.

[Nanuqsaurus]

Gotta love it that the Papo Tyrannosaurus once again makes an appearance in the article as the world's favourite stock photo T. rex haha! But anyway, what an amazing find It's so beautifully preserved!

[DinoToyForum]

Gotta love it that the Papo Tyrannosaurus once again makes an appearance in the article as the world's favourite stock photo T. rex haha! But anyway, what an amazing find It's so beautifully preserved!

Yes, I noticed that. There's a Facebook Group dedicated to sightings of the Papo T. rex. Someone should create a similar topic here on the forum (if they haven't already?), it would be fun!

[Dynomikegojira]

Wow get a load of that skull and DinoToyForum I didn't know you were officially involved with paleontology that's amazing. Too early to say but my bet is it's a Pliosaurus sp.

[DinoToyForum]

Wow get a load of that skull and DinoToyForum I didn't know you were officially involved with paleontology that's amazing. Too early to say but my bet is it's a Pliosaurus sp.

That sounds like a good bet. And, yeah, I'm a plesiosaur palaeontologist when I can find the time. If you're interested here's my list of publications: https://plesiosauria.com/publications/

[DinoToyForum]

Did anyone else watch the BBC documentary about this discovery yesterday? Is was fascinating to see how the specimen was excavated from a team hanging on ropes halfway down a cliff face.

[ceratopsian]

It was indeed fascinating. I very much enjoyed it - with one caveat. The original finder of the snout on the beach was not properly credited in my opinion. Surely he deserved to be named. If he wanted anonymity, the BBC should have made that clear - but I don't get the impression it was his choice. It seems to be the choice of the editors. The Etches Collection said they had no editorial control and did not see the finished programme till it was aired. I thought it would have been fitting to have invited him in at the end to see the eventual result of his sharp- eyed discovery.

I was astonished to see the difficulties of extraction from the cliff!  Heart stopping moments indeed. I hope to get back to the Etches Collection to see the fossil.

[Crackington]

I watched the documentary too and really enjoyed it. David Attenborough's enthusiasm is so infectious.

I do agree with @ceratopsian that the initial finder was not properly credited. It would have been nice to see what he thought of the skull once it had been unveiled.

I wonder if the Steve Etches collection is open to the public, would love to see it.