Hallan fósil jurásico

Jurassic fossil discovery

A 150-million-year-old fossilised skull belonging to a creature called a pliosaur has been unearthed along the Jurassic Coast in Dorset in England.

Reporter:
Rebecca Morelle

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While dinosaurs roamed the land, pliosaurs terrorised the oceans. These giant, crocodile-shaped creatures were fearsome hunters, their immense jaws and razor-sharp teeth made easy work of passing prey. Now an 8ft-long skull has been found in Dorset by a local fossil collector. And scientists say it could be one of the biggest ever found, belonging to a creature that would have measured up to 50ft long. Palaeontologist Richard Forrest has been examining the specimen.

Richard Forrest: 'To get a whole skull like this is like Christmas and Easter and everything rolled into one, because we actually can see, yes this really was an absolutely enormous animal, and realistically, probably the most powerful predator that ever lived.'

The fossilised skull has now been bought by Dorset County Council using Heritage Lottery Funds. They plan to eventually put it on public display.

Rebecca Morelle, BBC News

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terrorised the oceans
aterrorizaban los océanos

fearsome hunters
temibles cazadores

passing prey
presas que pasaban (cerca del pliosaurio en el mar)

skull
cráneo

a local fossil collector
un coleccionista de fósiles (del área donde se encontró el pliosaurio)

palaeontologist
paleontólogo

specimen
espécimen

is like Christmas and Easter and everything rolled into one
es como celebrar la Navidad y la Semana Santa a la vez (por ser un encuentro afortunado)

predator
depredador

on public display
(lo pondrán) en exhibición pública