Monster Fossil Graveyard  Attention: open in a new window.
PDFPrintE-mail  Monster fossil graveyard found, according to
articles in ABC (Australia) News in Science, BBC News and
Reuters, 5 October 2006. Norwegian scientists have found a
"treasure trove" of huge marine reptile fossils in Jurassic
rocks on the Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen in the high Arctic.
The fossils are plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs, very
similar to marine reptile fossils found in southern England. One
of the pliosaurs has been nicknamed "The Monster" because its 3
metre (10ft) skull indicates it is the largest pliosaur so far
found. It has yet to be fully excavated but scientists estimate
it is between 8 and 10 metres (27-33ft) long.  Jorn Harald
Hurum, co-director of the fieldwork, said that he was surprised
by the density of fossils at the site and that they are fully
articulated whole skeletons, not individual bones. He commented
to Reuters: "It’s rare to find so many fossils in one place –
carcasses are food for other anim