Updated

Updated · Sci.News · Jul 22

Study Cuts Liopleurodon ferox to 5 Meters From 25, as 12.2-Meter Pliosaurs Emerge

Updated

Updated · Sci.News · Jul 22

Study Cuts Liopleurodon ferox to 5 Meters From 25, as 12.2-Meter Pliosaurs Emerge

Q: If not Liopleurodon, what colossal 12-meter sea monster truly ruled the Jurassic oceans?

There is no confirmed named replacement for *Liopleurodon ferox* yet. The new study shows the real giant was likely an as-yet unidentified giant pliosaur, represented by fragmentary Oxford Clay fossils estimated at up to about 12.2 meters long. That is the key revision. *Liopleurodon ferox*, long popularized as a 25-meter super-predator, now appears to have averaged around 5 meters, with the largest confirmed individuals reaching about 8.09 meters. It was still an apex hunter and the largest confirmed animal in its local Oxford Clay ecosystem, but not the enormous “sea monster” of popular culture. The evidence for the true Jurassic giant comes from other pliosaur remains found in the same Middle Jurassic rocks of England. According to Edward Bartlett and colleagues, these fossils are too incomplete to assign confidently to a species, but they indicate that genuine pliosaur gigantism had already evolved by the late Middle Jurassic. In other words, 10-meter-plus marine predators were real—just not *Liopleurodon ferox*. So the best answer is that the Jurassic oceans were ruled not by an oversized *Liopleurodon*, but by other giant pliosaurs, including an unidentified form around 12 meters long. Until better fossils are found, the identity of that colossal predator remains unresolved.

1 articles · Updated · Sci.News · Jul 22

University of Portsmouth paleontologists re-evaluated 37 Liopleurodon ferox specimens and concluded the animal averaged about 5 meters long, far below the 25-meter image popularized for decades.
The revision came from a full review of every assigned specimen plus two key skeletons and a complete skull, which showed more complete animals clustered around 4.8 to 6 meters.
A skull making up about 24% of skeletal length helps explain how the reptile remained a dominant Jurassic predator despite its smaller body size, and it is still the largest confirmed animal in the Oxford Clay ecosystem.
Separate fragmentary Oxford Clay fossils point to unidentified pliosaurs reaching 7.02 to 12.2 meters, suggesting true giant pliosaurs evolved in the late Middle Jurassic alongside Liopleurodon ferox.
The findings, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, also aim to resolve a taxonomic history that had produced size estimates ranging from 6.39 meters to 25 meters.

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Sci.News1d ago

University of Portsmouth Paleontologists Re-evaluate Liopleurodon Ferox Size to 5 Meters, Dispelling 25-Meter Myth

If not Liopleurodon, what colossal 12-meter sea monster truly ruled the Jurassic oceans?

Its body shrank, but its skull grew larger. What does this reveal about Liopleurodon's hunting secrets?

A TV sea monster was just debunked. How does science correct its own long-held myths?

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Sci.News1d ago

University of Portsmouth Paleontologists Re-evaluate Liopleurodon Ferox Size to 5 Meters, Dispelling 25-Meter Myth

Study Cuts Liopleurodon ferox to 5 Meters From 25, as 12.2-Meter Pliosaurs Emerge

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