Creature of the Week #12: Liopleurodon

marco_polo

Liopleurodon (meaning 'smooth-sided teeth') was a large predatory marine reptile which lived during the late Jurassic. Made famous by the BBC Walking with Monsters series, Liopleurodon was a member of the superfamilies pliosaurs.



Due to the fact that almost all remains thus far discovered have been of the skull and teeth, the exact size of Liopleurodon remains a controversial subject.

Based on the length of the skull and the assumption that it was approximately 1/7 of the total size of the body, palaeontologist L. B. Tarlo estimates the overall length of Liopleurodon at approximately 11 meters. However more recent estimates have placed its size at about 7-10 meter range weighing some wher in the region of 3 tonnes, making it a bit smaller that the very largest pliosaurs like Kronosaurus. Unfortunaley for some unknown reasons, the reconstruction that featured on the otherwise excellent BBC series was grossly oversized at 25 meters. Regardless of its exact size, there is little doubt that Liopleurodon held a place very close to the very top of the food chain in the Jurassic seas.

Like all Pliosaurs, Liopleurodon is characterised by having a short neck and an large elongated head, the back of skull was extended to make room for its large jaw muscles. This resulted in an extremly powerful biting jaw containing sharp conical teeth. It four large flippers also enabling it to accelerate rapidly in persuit of prey making it a very effective predator.


A more realisticly sized representation of Liopleurodon featured in the later BBC series Walking with Sea Monsters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZtlHvhAqho

And here is the oversized version from the original Walking with Dinosaurs. I have to say it still pretty cool all the same :cool:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D4AA_l6c3w

Galvasean

I have to admit to being somewhat disappointed by the actual size of Liopleurodon. It also annoys me when books gormlessly roll out the 25 meters long size that was shown in Walking With Dinosaurs without doing proper research. Although I suppose relatives of Liopleurodon could grow to more than 15 meters long (one from Mexico was that size and not yet fully grown). They probably should have used a more generic name like 'giant pliosaur' or something for the show.

Weidii