With a huge head, razor-sharp teeth, and massive flippers to propel them through the water, pliosaurs were once the fiercest predators in the sea. Yet millions of years ago, these so-called sea monsters vanished, leaving little of themselves behind. So, when Jacobs discovered the snout, he knew he was onto something special. Further investigation yielded a remarkable discovery—the rest of the pliosaur's skull was encased in the cliffs above the beach. Upon extraction, it would be the first fully intact pliosaur skull fossil ever uncovered.
This fossil, along with other pliosaur fossil fragments discovered around the globe, is helping scientists put together more pieces of the puzzle regarding this ancient beast. What do these fossils reveal about the pliosaur?
A Really Big Reptile
First, scientists have discovered that pliosaurs ruled Earth's oceans from about 200 million until about 66 million years ago. Pliosaurs were not dinosaurs, though they shared the planet with them. But like dinosaurs, pliosaurs were reptiles—the name pliosaur even means "more lizard" in Greek. While they made their homes in the water, pliosaurs had lungs, just like today's reptiles. So, these marine reptiles had to surface periodically to take in air.
Pliosaurs were also ginormous. Based on the fossil found in England, the skull alone could be over 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length. Further fossil evidence suggests that some pliosaurs had bodies over 40 feet (12.2 meters) long. That's bigger than a school bus! Yet even though they were gargantuan, pliosaurs were also extremely fast. They had four flippers that helped them zoom through the water at speeds of up to 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) per hour. So, chasing down food wasn't a problem, which is good because scientists have also determined that pliosaurs loved to eat.
That Bites!
As apex predators, pliosaurs were at the top of the food chain, and these hungry, hungry reptiles gobbled up anything that came their way—from ancient fish to giant marine reptiles like themselves and even other pliosaurs. Fossils show that these carnivores were well equipped to chow down, too. They had long, sharp, serrated teeth, some of which were the size of 2-liter soda bottles, as well as strong jaws. Researchers think pliosaurs used their jaws like modern-day crocodiles do—biting down with such force that their prey would be immediately incapacitated.
In fact, experts estimate that the pliosaur had a bite force almost as powerful as that of a Tyrannosaurus rex—and over 30,000 times more powerful than a human's. Some scientists maintain that if pliosaurs lived today, they would be able to bite a small car in half!
Swimming into History
So, how did such a fearsome predator disappear? Scientists don't know. Some think that a rise in competition for food hastened their extinction. But others argue their demise was brought about by a larger extinction event that also impacted dinosaurs. While there is still a lot that we don't know about pliosaurs, this much is certain—they were the biggest thing with four flippers to ever rule the sea!
Based on the article, which is true about scientists?
options:
They learned most of what we know about pliosaurs by examining fossils.
They found out most facts about pliosaurs from studying living reptiles.
They don't have anything more to discover about how pliosaurs lived.
They don't have any theories about how pliosaurs became extinct.
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The correct statement based on the article is:
They learned most of what we know about pliosaurs by examining fossils.
The article discusses how fossils, including the recently discovered pliosaur skull, are helping scientists put together more pieces of the puzzle regarding this ancient beast.
The sentence that best supports the idea that pliosaurs were successful predators is:
Researchers think pliosaurs used their jaws like modern-day crocodiles do—biting down with such force that their prey would be immediately incapacitated.
This sentence highlights their powerful bite and ability to incapacitate prey, which is indicative of their success as predators.
The closest synonym for the word "serrated," as it is used in the article, is jagged.
"Serrated" refers to a saw-like edge that has a series of sharp points or notches, which is similar in meaning to "jagged."
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