Fossilized fragments of prehistoric sea monster found in Kursk region.

ZHELEZNOGORSK (Itar-Tass) - Fragments of a
fossilized skeleton belonging to one of the largest "sea monsters," a
pliosaur, has been unearthed in the Kursk region in central European
Russia.
The 120 million-year-old fossils of the prehistoric reptile were found
by geologists of the Mikhailovsky mining plant. "A researcher who arrived
from Moscow said the bones (fragments of the upper and lower jaws and
chest bones) belonged to a marine predator, most likely to a pliosaur,"
said Konstantin Bulgakov, a plant's spokesman.
Pliosaurs were a form of plesiosaur, a group of giant aquatic reptiles
that terrorized the ocean 150 million years ago, around the same time that
dinosaurs roamed the Earth. The beasts measuring from four to 15 meters in
length and weighing up to 12 tons had short necks and huge, crocodile-like
heads that contained immensely powerful jaws and a set of huge,
razor-sharp teeth. The jaws were powerful enough to bite a Hummer car in
half. The T-Rex is said to be a "kitten" compared to the pliosaur.
After the fossil bones of the ferocious aquatic predator are examined
by paleontologists they will be handed over to the Kursk local lore
museum, Bulgakov said.