Fossils of a large Jurassic marine predator found in Chile

Handout photos provided by Mauricio Castro Barraza shows experts of the University of Chile while they study the remains of a pliosaur, a marine predator from the Jurassic, near Calama, Chile.

A handout photo provided by Mauricio Castro Barraza shows experts of the University of Chile while they recover the remains of a pliosaur, a marine predator from the Jurassic, near Calama, Chile.

 Chilean researchers found in the Atacama desert the first pliosaur fossils found in the country, an oceanic reptile with a more powerful bite than the Tyrannosaurus rex, and that inhabited what is now known as northern Chile about 160 million years ago.

The finding of the remains consists of jaw, tooth, and limb fragments from two specimens, and represents the second oldest record of pliosaurs in the Southern Hemisphere.

A handout photo provided by Mauricio Castro Barraza shows experts of the University of Chile while they study the remains of a pliosaur, a marine predator from the Jurassic, near Calama, Chile.

Via EPA-EFE/Mauricio Castro Barraza HANDOUT

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