Liopleurodon

Liopleurodon lived in the Jurassic Period, around 160-140mya. It lived in the warm, shallow seas that once covered England and NW Europe. A recent skull find in the cliffs of Dorset, UK, may contain a full skeleton. It was the size of a swimming pool and had 5m long jaws that could swallow a car, with huge 36cm teeth (2x the size of T-Rex's teeth.). Its flippers were 3m long (long enough to park a small car on), and it could hold its breath for over an hour after coming up for air. This was very useful during its hunting hours. The largest and oldest Liopleurodons were over 100 years old. Liopleurodon was the largest carnivorous animal ever to inhabit Planet Earth, and deserves its magnificent title, King of Carnivores.

Fact File

Height = Not very tall, it swam lengthways. Probably about 2-3m.

Length = 25m+

Weight = 75-100 tonnes

Diet = Carnivorous

Prey

Liopleurodon ate pretty much anything foolish enough to come near it. It most commonly ate Opthalmosaurus and Cryptoclidus, although the latter could climb onto land like a modern seal to escape the predator. It attacked the Opthalmosauruses while they were coming up for air, often swallowing their whole carcass in one or two bites.

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