An outline of small rocks traces the final resting place of the fossil known as the Monster on the island of Spitsbergen. The labels show where different parts of the massive pliosaur have been revealed in the shale.

Pliosaurs were the top marine predators of the Jurassic (200 million to 145 million years ago), a time when the oceans were teeming with large, meat-eating reptiles, says Jxrn Hurum of the Natural History Museum in Oslo.

It was the T. rex of the ocean, Hurum added. It would have eaten everything. And the reptile's powerful jaws, scientists say, would have been capable of lifting a car and biting it in half.

 More Photos in the News
 Today's 15 Most Read Stories
 Free Email Newsletter: Focus on Photography