Researchers Uncover Fossils of 150-Million-Year-Old Pliosaurs From the Jurassic Period, Helped Them to Conceptualize the Food Chain

Researchers have uncovered the remains of one of the largest marine predators that has ever graced Earth in Poland. The fossils of 150-million-year-old pliosaurs were spotted in the village of Krzyżanowice in the north of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains by paleontologists, Science in Poland stated. The fossil measured around 10 meters in length and weighed close to several dozen tons, as per paleontologist Dr. Daniel Tyborowski from the Museum of the Earth of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw. The specimen was noted to have large skulls and massive jaws containing large, sharp teeth. The limbs appeared to look like fins, which is a feature of a pliosaur. Findings regarding the fossil have been published in the journal Proceedings of the Geologists' Association.

Pliosaurs lived at the peak of the dinosaur age, yet even amongst the most ferocious of these beasts, they towered. According to experts, they were the largest group of predators in the Jurassic period. Despite plenty of interest in these dinosaurs, researchers have never been able to get many of their fossils into their custody. This finding is special because it is the first time pliosaur remains have turned up in Poland. "In Europe, they have been discovered only in a few countries, never before in Poland," said Dr. Tyborowski. Pliosaur bones weren't the only remains researchers found in the area. The team collected several hundred bones from the site. They unearthed fossils of animals like turtles, ancestors of modern-day crocodiles, and plesiosaurs (long-necked cousins of pliosaurs) from the Jurassic period.

Researchers believe that the Świętokrzyskie Mountains area where these remains were spotted served as a habitat for all the marine beings whose fossils were found here. The remnants helped experts to conceptualize the food chain that functioned in this habitat during the Jurassic period. "This environment was home to the marine reptiles we discovered," Dr. Tyborowski stated. "Sea turtles ate large snails, while they fell prey to large crocodiles. We know this because we found teeth marks left by those reptiles on turtle shells. On the other hand, powerful pliosaurs hunted all animals whose fossils we discovered at this site." Experts are optimistic that further exploration of the site will give them more information about the Jurassic period. "We hope that the next months and years will bring even richer material in the form of bones of large reptiles," said Dr. Tyborowski.

In 2023, another set of pliosaur fossils was uncovered in Dorset's Jurassic Coast in England, as per BBC NEWS. Researchers found the skull of the gigantic sea monster from the cliffs. It was 2m (6ft 5in)-long in size and created a lot of splash in the paleontologist community because of being one of the most complete pliosaur specimens ever unearthed until that time. "It's one of the best fossils I've ever worked on. What makes it unique is it's complete," local paleontologist Steve Etches said. "The lower jaw and the upper skull are meshed together, as they would be in life. Worldwide, there are 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."