PREDATOR X
March 17, 2009 by Sarah Haddad
SVALBARD – The skull of a sea monster that scientists are saying was the most fearful animal to ever swim the ocean was discovered last year in the Arctic.
The fossil remains of this sea reptile were excavated from the permafrost of Svalbard, a group of islands in the Arctic Ocean. Dubbed “Predator X”, the creature was at least 50 feet long and weighed at least 45 tons. It is now believed that the animal was not a dinosaur but a pliosaur, a large, short-necked reptile that lived 147 million years ago.
While it is not the largest sea creature ever found – that would be the 75ft ichthyosaur – Predator X was extremely deadly. It had a ten-foot jaw with a bite force of 33,000 lbs per square inch. To put that into perspective, the Tyrannosaurus Rex 3,000 lbs per square inch. It could have crushed a Hummer!
Predator X also had two hind-fins, which scientists were confused by, as only the front set are necessary for swimming. However, it was deduced that these back fins gave the creature an extra boost of speed when it went in for the kill.
The shape and the size of the brain most closely resembles today’s most perfect predator: the great white shark.
