“Sea Rex” Pliosaur: Jurᴀssic Coast’s Most Terrifying Jaws Emerge from the Cliffs in a Mᴀssive Mystery-Solving Discovery

In a jaw-dropping 2023–2024 excavation on England’s iconic Jurᴀssic Coast, fossil hunters have unveiled one of the most complete and fearsome pliosaur skulls ever found — a colossal 2-metre (6 ft 5 in) specimen nicknamed the “Sea Rex” for its bone-crushing bite and apex-predator dominance.

Discovered by enthusiast Phil Jacobs near Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset, the skull was painstakingly extracted from 150-million-year-old Kimmeridge Clay cliffs by Steve Etches and his team. Now on permanent display at the Etches Collection museum, the fossil preserves 130 razor-sharp teeth in interlocking jaws, a parietal eye, and a robust skull that delivered an estimated 33,000 newtons of bite force — nearly matching Tyrannosaurus rex.

At 10–12 metres long, this Late Jurᴀssic marine reptile ruled the warm, shallow seas that once covered Britain, ambushing prey with explosive speed from its four powerful flippers. Experts, including University of Bristol’s Judyth Sᴀssoon, suggest it may represent a new species, offering unprecedented insight into pliosaur hunting behaviour and evolution.

The find resolves long-standing mysteries about Jurᴀssic ocean giants, proving these “sea rexes” were even more formidable than previously imagined. With the skull now captivating visitors and further body parts potentially still hidden in the cliffs, the Jurᴀssic Coast continues to deliver prehistoric shocks that rewrite the story of Earth’s most terrifying predators.