Colossal Pliosaur “Sea Monster” with Skull Longer Than 2 Metres Dug from Jurᴀssic Coast Cliffs, England

Paleontologists have extracted one of the largest pliosaur skulls ever found — measuring a staggering 2.1 metres (nearly 7 feet) in length — from the crumbling cliffs of Dorset’s Jurᴀssic Coast. This colossal marine predator, nicknamed “Sea Rex II,” lived around 150 million years ago and dominated the shallow seas of what is now southern England as the ultimate apex carnivore.

The skull was discovered in 2024 by local collector Steve Etches after a major cliff collapse at Kimmeridge Bay exposed the mᴀssive bones embedded 12 metres up the sheer face. Over several months of dangerous rope-access work, the near-complete cranium — packed with more than 130 razor-sharp, conical teeth up to 30 cm long — was safely recovered. The specimen belongs to an enormous pliosaurid, likely reaching 12–14 metres in total length and weighing up to 12 tonnes.

CT scans reveal powerful jaw muscles capable of a bite force exceeding 20,000 newtons — stronger than any living crocodile — plus sensory canals along the snout for detecting pressure waves from prey in murky water. Stomach contents from related specimens include ammonites, fish, and even pieces of other marine reptiles, confirming its role as an opportunistic super-predator.

Published in Cretaceous Research (2026) by an international team including Etches and University of Southampton researchers, the find is hailed as even more complete than the previous “Sea Rex” specimen. The skull is now on display at The Etches Collection museum in Kimmeridge, where it has already broken the Guinness World Record for the longest pliosaur cranium known.

This extraordinary fossil underscores the Jurᴀssic Coast’s unmatched fossil wealth and offers scientists an unparalleled view into the anatomy of the ocean’s most terrifying hunter just before the end-Cretaceous extinction. As more of the skeleton is recovered, “Sea Rex II” promises to reveal even greater secrets about these long-extinct sea monsters.