Palaeontologists from the University of Oslo, led by Dr. Jørn Hurum and Hans Arne Nakrem, made the discovery in August this year. The remains, which are very well preserved as well as being unique in their completeness, are the first complete skeleton of a Pliosaurus ever discovered, although parts of pliosaurs have earlier been found in England, Russia and Argentina.
During the two-week field period the palaeontologists documented a remarkable 28 skeletons, ranging from two to ten meters in length. The discovery ranks Svalbard as one of the world's four most productive sites for the remains of marine reptiles.
Pliosaurus, one of the largest-ever marine predators, lived in the ocean and hunted other smaller marine reptiles.
The University of Oslo has launched a website for information about the Svalbard discoveries; Pliosaurus 2006