The fossil was found by a team of palaeontologists and volunteers, led by Dr. Jørn Hurum, in Svalbard in 2006. The excavation took place the following summer. The fossil will be shown to the public for the first time  at the Natural History Museum in Oslo on Sunday, 2nd March 2008.

Pliosaurs were large reptiles that averaged 5-6 meters (16-20 feet) in length. One of the largest pliosaurs known is the Australian giant Kronosaurus , which measures in at 10-11 meters (33-36 feet) long. The new Norwegian find, named “The Monster” by team members, is estimated to be about 15 meters (50 feet) long, making it one of the longest and most massive plesiosaurs yet found.

Although the crew focused on removing the “The Monster”, parts of two other marine reptiles were also collected – a long-necked plesiosaur and an ichthyosaur, a type of extinct sea reptile form the age of dinosaurs that superficially resembled modern dolphins. Based on the wealth of finds, scientists now recognize Svalbard as home to one of the richest accumulations of marine reptiles in the world.

“The scientific value of such a large locality with unknown species of marine reptiles is just staggering” Jørn Hurum comments.

Another fossil found at the same place will be excavated in summer 2008.

Copyrights for all pictures: Natural History Museum in Oslo.

(Sources: Natural History Museum in Oslo, Forskning.no, Svalbardposten)

Read other articles:

http://www.nhm.uio.no/pliosaurus/english/index.html

http://www.forskning.no/Artikler/2008/februar/1203937327.23

http://www.svalbardposten.no/nyhet.cfm?nyhetid=1230

Read about Pliosaurs and other Plesiosaurs: http://www.plesiosaur.com/more.php

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Illustration of the "monster" pliosaur by Tor Sponga, Natural History Museum, Oslo.. The bones excavated in 2007 are marked red.

Field work - "Monster" site
Cutting plaster jacket with rock-saw

Size comparison - Pliosaur ("The Monster"), Kronosaurus, and human diver.