At first, researchers thought the remains were that of elephant trunks, but, as they not, there were no elephants in the Peruvian desert.

Fossilized Teeth

“There were no elephants in South America before 3 million years ago, and the specimens found have an age of 12 to 15 million years, so that was impossible,” said Professor Jelle Reumer, one of the team of scientists who found the fossil in the Pisco-Ica desert in coastal Peru.

The remains of this sea monster, also called “Leviathan Melvillei” included a jaw bone, and several teeth, each measuring 12cm in diameter and 36cm in length!

They concluded that the species went extinct due to climatic changes.

This 50-foot dinosaur was excavated last summer on Norway’s Arctic island. The Monster likely represents the biggest species of pliosaur known to science, said Jørn Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, who led the dig team—and who called the reptile “the T. rex of the ocean.”

Pilosaurs were the top marine predators, but unfortunately, not many fossils were found up until now.

Named the “the Monster,” this newly identified fossil predator is one of the largest marine reptiles ever found.