The word "earth-shattering" is classified as figurative. In the context of the article, it is used to convey the significant impact of the finding that plesiosaurs exhibited a different reproductive behavior compared to other reptiles. The phrase suggests that this discovery is groundbreaking and transformative in understanding the biology and social structures of these ancient creatures. The context of the discussion around reproductive methods and the comparison to modern marine mammals helped to clarify that "earth-shattering" refers to the profound implications of this discovery rather than a literal upheaval of the Earth.
The animal which roamed the sees 78 million years ago is about 15 ft long the length of a minibus and Bones indicate that the baby plesiosaur would have been as long as 6 ft was 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 further 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
Use the passive to answer the question in three to five 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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