The word "earth-shattering" in the passage can be classified as connotative. While it literally suggests something that causes a significant disturbance to the Earth, in this context, it conveys a sense of profound significance or impact regarding the discovery about plesiosaurs' reproductive behavior. The context provided by the surrounding sentences reveals that the finding challenges existing notions about how reptiles reproduce, indicating that the use of "earth-shattering" emphasizes the groundbreaking nature of this revelation in paleontology.
The animal, which roamed the seas 78-million years ago, is about 15-feet long — the length of a minibus — and bones indicate that the baby plesiosaur would have been as long as six feet when born. The finding, published in the online edition of the journal Science on Thursday, is definitive evidence that the giant sea creature gave birth to single, live offspring, rather than laying eggs, like most reptiles, says paleontologist and lead author F. Robin O’Keefe. This reproductive behavior also indicates that the animals were gregarious social creatures that cared for their young, similar to toothed whales or dolphins, according to the paper. “What is earth-shattering is that plesiosaurs are doing it differently than other reptiles,” O’Keefe said. “Instead of having lots of little babies, they’re having one big baby — a single, very large fetus.” Question Use the passage to answer the question. In 3–5 sentences, classify the word earth-shattering as denotative, connotative, or figurative, and then explain how context helped you determine the meaning of the phrase.
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