Scientists find prehistoric super-predator

Jan 29, 2013 |

Scientists have found that a pile of bones, gathering dust for almost a century in a UK museum, actually belong to an undiscovered species of prehistoric super-predator resembling part crocodile and part shark.

The creature Tyrannoneustes lythrodectikos, or Tyrant swimmer, is believed to have terrorised the warm Jurassic seas around the British coastline around 165 million years ago. The new research makes it one of the world’s oldest known “super-predators” — carnivores that can feed on prey as large, or larger, than themselves, the Daily Mail reported. The beast was a marine crocodile measuring up to 30ft long that looked part shark and part sinister dolphin. Its partial skeleton, including a jawbone and teeth, has been stored by the Hunterian Museum.

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