An illustration of how the Pliosaur may have looked while hunting. The new find may be an unknown relative.
PHOTO: TORE SPONGA / BERGENS TIDENDE
New 'monster' found"We have found another giant lizard. We found a new monster under the Knorringfjellet (fjell=mountain) in Svalbard," Associate Professor Jørn Hurum at the University of Oslo (UiO) told newspaper Bergens Tidende.
"We have looked at the bones and they are just as large as those we excavated in the summer. The parts we had were not as complete but with those we have now we can demonstrate that this is an unknown type, this is something new," Hurum said.
The expedition "Lizard Hunters 2006" found the fossilized skeleton of a pliosaur last year, one of the world's largest ever predators. The skeleton is likely over 12 meters (39.3 feet) long - the skull alone is at least two meters long.
The predator lizard was the size of a bus, with teeth the size of cucumbers and could have fit a person on its tongue and swallowed it whole. This summer's find is an unknown relative, Hurum believes.
"We have found a new species unknown to science. It is a relative, but has at the same time certain differences from a common pliosaur," Hurum said.
Rising temperatures have made it easier to excavate the finds. Hurum would not divulge how large the paleontological find was, other than to say it was big - very big.
The new monster lizard will be assembled and presented at a press conference in February or March - two students are currently working on gluing the bits together.
Next year Hurum will embark on a new expedition, hoping to learn more about the latest discovery in time for a global meeting of 7,500 geologists in Oslo in August.
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article2139375.ece