Changes: Liopleurodon/Generation 1

Revision as of 08:59, 27 May 2019

Liopleurodon was a species of large pliosaur from the late Jurassic period. It lived in the deep seas near the European coastlines, in vast territories.

With a maximum length of 25 meters, this creature was one of the largest carnivores to exist.

Creature attributes

Physical appearance and biology

Liopleurodon was a very large pliosaur. It had the fundamental characteristics of the typical pliosaur, such as a large, heavy skull supported by a short neck. Its jaws carried a row of protruding, needle-sharp teeth. It also had powerful nostrils which were used to pinpoint the scent of its prey.

Each of Liopleurodon's four flippers was three meters in length. By alternately flapping its flippers, it managed to propel its huge bulk effortlessly through the Jurassic waters.

They were known to have most likely given live birth to their offspring.

The coloration of a Liopleurodon was very similar to that of a great white shark's. It had black scales on the top half of its body, probably to camouflage it from prey above it. Meanwhile, on the other half of its body, there were white scales that would camouflage it from prey below it.

Behavior and traits

Being one of the largest carnivores to have existed, Liopleurodon was the apex predator of every area it lived in. Liopleurodon had a variety of prey consisting of sharks, marine crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, other pliosaurs, and the largest fish that ever lived, Leedsichthys. Not even terrestrial prey such as Eustreptospondylus was safe from the large marine reptile. It would also occasionally scavenge carcasses. Because of its reputation, other predators would flee upon seeing Liopleurodon and would only attack individuals when they were wounded.

This species of pliosaur lived a more aquatic lifestyle than other plesiosaurs like Cryptoclidus due to its large size. Their size also made them territorial and they would fight for space. Adult Liopleurodon were constantly in danger of being beached if they got to close to the islands.

Juveniles lived in the shallows until they were old enough.

Classification and ancestry

The candidate for the ancestors of plesiosaurs are the nothosaurs of the Late Triassic. Liopleurodon, in particular, belongs to a group of plesiosaurs called pliosaurs that had short necks and large heads.

In Walking with Dinosaurs

Liopleurodon infobox — An *Ophthalmosaurus* swiming under a *Liopleurodon*.

Liopleurodon appears in the series' intro at the 0:11 mark until 0:13.

Cruel Sea

A Liopleurodon comes out from the water and snatches a Eustreptospondylus off a rocky outcrop just before the title card of the episode is shown.

A male Liopleurodon later tears a female Ophthalmosaurus in half when she was having trouble giving birth. The male later encounters a female who he engages in a territorial dispute. The bull wins the fight by biting the female's left hind flipper and as she leaves her bleeding wound attracts Hybodus sharks that most likely kill her. The male Liopleurodon was one of the victims of the storm that occurred at the end of the episode. His cause of death was being beached and being consumed during his last moments of life by multiple scavenging Eustreptospondylus.

In Sea Monsters

Liopleurodon is one of the creatures listed on Nigel Marven's Time map.

To Hell... and Back?

Liopleurodon Taucher BBC — Nigel with a *Liopleurodon*. (To Hell... and Back?)

Liopleurodon is the main hazard of the Jurassic seas and that makes them the second deadliest seas of all time.

A Liopleurodon is attracted to the carcass of a Leedsichthys that Nigel witnessed die at the hands of a Metriorhynchus and a Hybodus earlier. He catches this large marine reptile on his radar and commands his shipmate Peter to bring out the Pole camera so he can watch a video feed of the creature. Nigel gets a glimpse of the Liopleurodon, but it becomes frightened by the underwater camera. Amazed by what he saw, Nigel Marven decides he would like to go underwater with the reptiles.

Before he does this, he and his crew decide to test a suit capable of releasing a chemical that would deter Liopleurodon on two young individuals. The test is completed using a mannequin filled with squid wearing the specialized suit. They first use shark repellant, but this fails to deter the hungry Liopleurodon. The crew then use the chemical Putrescine, which emits a foul smell, for their next experiment. The second experiment successfully drew away the pliosaurs with the closest to an aggressive action from them being a nudge. This greenlights Nigel Marven's dive with them.

During the night Nigel took a swim in the Jurassic seas, he witnessed a pair of two Liopleurodon feasting on the Leedsichthys carcass. Nigel Marven decided to get closer to frenzy, but one of the pliosaurs swam too close to Nigel causing him to release the Putrescine he had and to depart from the dangerous waters where he then proceeded to time travel to the Late Cretaceous.

Other appearances

Liopleurodon was one of the few creatures featured in the Walking with Dinosaurs pilot. Like in its appearance in Cruel Sea, the animal ended up beached on the shore.

Behind the scenes

Liopleurodon beached WWDE03 — A beached male *Liopleurodon*. (Cruel Sea)

No Liopleurodon specimen or any pliosaur was ever 25 meters in length or 150 tonnes. Estimates of real Liopleurodon say it was 6-12 meters in length with an estimated weight of fewer than 2 tonnes^[1]^[2] and the largest pliosaur, Pliosaurus funkei, is estimated to have been only 10-12 meters long.^[3] According to the ABC website and the now removed BBC website, what inspired the production team to make Liopleurodon over 20 meters was based off a skull fragment from the Natural History Museum^[4], but this estimate has been considered dubious at best.^[5] Another reason for the greatly exaggerated size was the Aramberri pliosaur. Reported to be an 18-meter juvenile, which would have grown even larger when matured, and reported as a Liopleurodon, this was the true source of inspiration for BBC's Liopleurodon. However, today many views have changed. No longer is it thought to be a juvenile and its size has been revised to 11-12 meters. Whether it was a Liopleurodon is still unclear.

However, there have been isolated fragments, found in England, that indicate pliosaurs of huge size. The largest is the macromerus pliosaur from Oxford. While it has been assigned to the genus of Liopleurodon, it has also been assigned to the genus of Pliosaurus and its true identity is still in debate. It's lower jaw alone, despite being incomplete, is still almost 3 meters long. This would mean that the whole pliosaur would have been 13-15 meters long and weighed in at 30-40 tonnes. While far from the BBC's Leviathan, this would still make it one of the most massive marine predators to have ever existed, in the same class as Sperm whales and Megalodon.

In real life, Liopleurodon lived from 160 million years ago, to about 155 million years ago so it would not have been around 149 million years ago.

Long neck Plesiosaurs like Cryptoclidus and short neck Pliosaurs like Liopleurodon are now thought to have flukes on their tails, and not smooth lizard-like tails.

In The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life, it is mentioned that Liopleurodon might have lived in Central America. The specimen they are referring to is "The Monster of Aramberri", a large pliosaur discovered in Mexico that some considered was a Liopleurodon ferox individual^[6] though it is now thought to belong to another genus or its own.^[7]^[8]^[9]

The design of Liopleurodon from Walking with Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters is very iconic with various toys and restorations of it and its relatives being based on the Walking with... series' Liopleurodon.

List of appearances

Gallery

Notes and references

[1] About.com - Liopleurodon

[2] The Plesiosaur Site - Liopleurodon

[3] Wired - Paleontologists Reveal the Identity of "Predator X"

[4] Walking with Dinosaurs - The Evidence

[5] Dinosaur Mailing List

[6] BBC News - Giant sea fossil unearthed

[7] Plesiosauria - Mine's Bigger Than Yours! The Monster of Aramberri, Predator X, and other monster pliosaurs in the media

[8] Dinosaur Mailing List

[9] The Plesiosaur Site - The 'Monster of Aramberri'

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Infobox creature||image = <tabber>
+{{Infobox creature|-
+|name = ''Liopleurodon ferox''
+|image =<tabber>
 |-|WWD-SM=[[File:Liopleurodon g.jpg|270px]]
 |-|WWD Pilot=[[File:WWDPilot Liopleurodon.jpg|270px]]
 </tabber>
-|-||att = Sharp, protruding teeth; large flippers; short tail, strong sense of smell, 25 metres in length
+|att = Sharp, protruding teeth; large flippers; short tail, a strong sense of smell, 25 meters in length
 |diet = ''[[Ophthalmosaurus]]''; ''[[Leedsichthys]]''; ''[[Eustreptospondylus]]''; other animals
-|range = [[Europe]] <br> Possibly central [[North America]]
+|range = [[Europe]]<br />Possibly central [[North America]]
-|time = [[Jurassic]] period<br>160 to 155 million years ago
+|time = [[Jurassic]] period<br />160 to 155 million years ago
-|appearances = ''[[Walking with Dinosaurs]]'', [[Cruel Sea]]<br>''[[Sea Monsters]]'', [[To Hell... and Back?]]|name = ''Liopleurodon ferox''}}{{Quote|... at 150 tonnes, it is the largest and most powerful carnivore ever to live on the planet.|''[[Walking with Dinosaurs]]'', [[Cruel Sea]]}}
+|appearances = ''[[Walking with Dinosaurs]]'', [[Cruel Sea]]<br />''[[Sea Monsters]]'', [[To Hell... and Back?]]}}'''''Liopleurodon''''' was a species of large [[Pliosaurs|pliosaur]] from the late [[Jurassic]] period. It lived in the deep seas near the [[Europe]]an coastlines, in vast territories.
+With a maximum length of 25 meters, this creature was one of the largest carnivores to exist.
-'''''Liopleurodon''''' was a species of large [[Pliosaurs|pliosaur]] from the late [[Jurassic]] period. It lived in the deep seas near the [[Europe]]an coastlines, in vast territories.
-With a maximum length of 25 metres, this creature was the largest carnivore to ever exist. Its incomprehensible size and strength made it indestructible to any attack.
 ==Creature attributes==
 ===Physical appearance and biology===
@@ Line 23: / Line 24: @@
 ===Behavior and traits===
-Being the largest carnivore to have ever existed, ''Liopleurodon'' was the apex predator of every area it lived in. ''Liopleurodon'' had a variety of prey consisting of sharks, marine crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, other pliosaurs, and the largest fish that ever lived, ''Leedsichthys''. Not even terrestrial prey such as ''Eustreptospondylus'' was safe from the large marine reptile. It would also occasionally scavenge carcasses. Because of its reputation, other predators would flee upon seeing ''Liopleurodon'' and would only attack individuals when they were wounded.
+Being one of the largest carnivores to have existed, ''Liopleurodon'' was the apex predator of every area it lived in. ''Liopleurodon'' had a variety of prey consisting of sharks, marine crocodiles, ichthyosaurs, other pliosaurs, and the largest fish that ever lived, ''Leedsichthys''. Not even terrestrial prey such as ''Eustreptospondylus'' was safe from the large marine reptile. It would also occasionally scavenge carcasses. Because of its reputation, other predators would flee upon seeing ''Liopleurodon'' and would only attack individuals when they were wounded.
 This species of pliosaur lived a more aquatic lifestyle than other plesiosaurs like ''[[Cryptoclidus]]'' due to its large size. Their size also made them territorial and they would fight for space. Adult Liopleurodon were constantly in danger of being beached if they got to close to the islands.
-Juveniles lived in the shallows until the were old enough.
+Juveniles lived in the shallows until they were old enough.
 ===Classification and ancestry===
-The candidate for the ancestors of plesiosaurs are the [[Nothosaurus|nothosaurs]] of the Late [[Triassic]]. ''Liopleurodon'' in particular belongs to a group of plesiosaurs called pliosaurs that had short necks and large heads.
+The candidate for the ancestors of plesiosaurs are the [[Nothosaurus|nothosaurs]] of the Late [[Triassic]]. ''Liopleurodon,'' in particular, belongs to a group of plesiosaurs called pliosaurs that had short necks and large heads.
 ==In ''[[Walking with Dinosaurs]]''==
@@ Line 36: / Line 37: @@
 ''Liopleurodon'' appears in the series' intro at the 0:11 mark until 0:13.
 ===[[Cruel Sea]]===
-A ''Liopleurodon ''comes out from the water and snatches an ''[[Eustreptospondylus]]'' off a rocky outcrop just before the title card of the episode is shown.
+A ''Liopleurodon ''comes out from the water and snatches a ''[[Eustreptospondylus]]'' off a rocky outcrop just before the title card of the episode is shown.
 A male ''Liopleurodon'' later tears a female ''[[Ophthalmosaurus]]'' in half when she was having trouble giving birth. The male later encounters a female who he engages in a territorial dispute. The bull wins the fight by biting the female's left hind flipper and as she leaves her bleeding wound attracts ''[[Hybodus]]'' sharks that most likely kill her. The male ''Liopleurodon'' was one of the victims of the storm that occurred at the end of the episode. His cause of death was being beached and being consumed during his last moments of life by multiple scavenging ''Eustreptospondylus.''
@@ Line 44: / Line 45: @@
 ===[[To Hell... and Back?]]===
 [[File:Liopleurodon Taucher BBC.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Nigel with a ''Liopleurodon''. ([[To Hell... and Back?]])]]
-''Liopleurodon'' is the main hazard of the Jurassic seas and makes them the second deadliest sea of all time.
+''Liopleurodon'' is the main hazard of the Jurassic seas and that makes them the second deadliest seas of all time.
-A ''Liopleurodon'' is attracted to the carcass of a ''[[Leedsichthys]]'' that Nigel witnessed die at the hands of a ''[[Metriorhynchus]]'' and a ''[[Hybodus]]'' earlier. He catches this large marine reptile on his radar and commands his shipmate [[Peter]] to bring out the [[Pole camera]] so he watch a video feed of the creature. Nigel gets a glimpse of the ''Liopleurodon'', but it becomes frightened by the underwater camera. Amazed by what he saw, Nigel Marven decides he would live to go underwater with the reptiles.
+A ''Liopleurodon'' is attracted to the carcass of a ''[[Leedsichthys]]'' that Nigel witnessed die at the hands of a ''[[Metriorhynchus]]'' and a ''[[Hybodus]]'' earlier. He catches this large marine reptile on his radar and commands his shipmate [[Peter]] to bring out the [[Pole camera]] so he can watch a video feed of the creature. Nigel gets a glimpse of the ''Liopleurodon'', but it becomes frightened by the underwater camera. Amazed by what he saw, Nigel Marven decides he would like to go underwater with the reptiles.
-Before he does this, him and his crew decide to test a suit capable of releasing a chemical that would detour ''Liopleurodon'' by using a mannequin filled with squid wearing the specialized suit on two young individuals. They first used shark repellant, but this fails to detour the hungry ''Liopleurodon''. The crew then used the chemical Putrescine, which emits a foul smell, for their next experiment. The second experiment successfully drew away the pliosaurs with the closest to an aggressive action from them being a nudge. This greenlit Nigel Marven's dive with them.
+Before he does this, he and his crew decide to test a suit capable of releasing a chemical that would deter ''Liopleurodon ''<span style="font-weight:normal;">on two young individuals. The test is completed u</span>sing a mannequin filled with squid wearing the specialized suit. They first use shark repellant, but this fails to deter the hungry ''Liopleurodon''. The crew then use the chemical Putrescine, which emits a foul smell, for their next experiment. The second experiment successfully drew away the pliosaurs with the closest to an aggressive action from them being a nudge. This greenlights Nigel Marven's dive with them.
-During the night Nigel took a swim in the Jurassic seas, he witnessed a pair of two ''Liopleurodon'' feasting on the ''Leedsichthys'' carcass. Nigel Marven decided to get closer to frenzy, but one of the pliosaurs swam too close to Nigel causing him to release  the Putrescine he had and to depart from the dangerous waters where he then proceeded to time travel to the Late [[Cretaceous]].
+During the night Nigel took a swim in the Jurassic seas, he witnessed a pair of two ''Liopleurodon'' feasting on the ''Leedsichthys'' carcass. Nigel Marven decided to get closer to frenzy, but one of the pliosaurs swam too close to Nigel causing him to release the Putrescine he had and to depart from the dangerous waters where he then proceeded to time travel to the Late [[Cretaceous]].
 ==Other appearances==
 ''Liopleurodon'' was one of the few creatures featured in the [[Walking with Dinosaurs pilot|''Walking with Dinosaurs'' pilot]]. Like in its appearance in ''Cruel Sea'', the animal ended up beached on the shore.
 ==Behind the scenes==
-[[File:Liopleurodon beach.jpg|thumb|250px|A beached male ''Liopleurodon''. ([[Cruel Sea]])]]
+[[File:Liopleurodon_beached_WWDE03.jpg|thumb|250px|A beached male ''Liopleurodon''. ([[Cruel Sea]])]]
-No ''Liopleurodon'' specimen or any pliosaur was ever 25 meters in length or 150 tonnes. Estimates of real ''Liopleurodon'' say it was 6-7 meters in length with an estimated weight of less than 2 tonnes<ref>[http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/aquaticdinosaurs/p/liopleurodon.htm About.com - Liopleurodon]</ref><ref>[http://plesiosaur.com/plesiosaurs/liopleurodon.php The Plesiosaur Site - Liopleurodon]</ref> and the largest pliosaur, ''Pliosaurus funkei'', is estimated to have been only 10-12 meters long.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/2012/10/paleontologists-reveal-identity-of-predator-x/ Wired - Paleontologists Reveal the Identity of "Predator X"]</ref> According to the ABC website and the now removed BBC website, what inspired the production team to make ''Liopleurodon'' over 20 meters was based off a skull fragment from the Natural History museum<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/dinosaurs/chronology/149/making.htm Walking with Dinosaurs - The Evidence]</ref>, but this estimate has been considered dubious at best.<ref>[http://dml.cmnh.org/2001Feb/msg00222.html Dinosaur Mailing List]</ref>
+No ''Liopleurodon'' specimen or any pliosaur was ever 25 meters in length or 150 tonnes. Estimates of real ''Liopleurodon'' say it was 6-12 meters in length with an estimated weight of fewer than 2 tonnes<ref>[http://dinosaurs.about.com/od/aquaticdinosaurs/p/liopleurodon.htm About.com - Liopleurodon]</ref><ref>[http://plesiosaur.com/plesiosaurs/liopleurodon.php The Plesiosaur Site - Liopleurodon]</ref> and the largest pliosaur, ''Pliosaurus funkei'', is estimated to have been only 10-12 meters long.<ref>[http://www.wired.com/2012/10/paleontologists-reveal-identity-of-predator-x/ Wired - Paleontologists Reveal the Identity of "Predator X"]</ref> According to the ABC website and the now removed BBC website, what inspired the production team to make ''Liopleurodon'' over 20 meters was based off a skull fragment from the Natural History Museum<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/dinosaurs/chronology/149/making.htm Walking with Dinosaurs - The Evidence]</ref>, but this estimate has been considered dubious at best.<ref>[http://dml.cmnh.org/2001Feb/msg00222.html Dinosaur Mailing List]</ref> Another reason for the greatly exaggerated size was the Aramberri pliosaur. Reported to be an 18-meter juvenile, which would have grown even larger when matured, and reported as a Liopleurodon, this was the true source of inspiration for BBC's Liopleurodon. However, today many views have changed. No longer is it thought to be a juvenile and its size has been revised to 11-12 meters. Whether it was a Liopleurodon is still unclear.
+However, there have been isolated fragments, found in England, that indicate pliosaurs of huge size. The largest is the macromerus pliosaur from Oxford. While it has been assigned to the genus of Liopleurodon, it has also been assigned to the genus of Pliosaurus and its true identity is still in debate. It's lower jaw alone, despite being incomplete, is still almost 3 meters long. This would mean that the whole pliosaur would have been 13-15 meters long and weighed in at 30-40 tonnes. While far from the BBC's Leviathan, this would still make it one of the most massive marine predators to have ever existed, in the same class as Sperm whales and Megalodon.
-In real life ''Liopleurodon'' lived from 160 million years ago, to about 155 million years ago so it would not have been around 149 million years ago.
+In real life, ''Liopleurodon'' lived from 160 million years ago, to about 155 million years ago so it would not have been around 149 million years ago.
+Long neck Plesiosaurs like ''Cryptoclidus ''and short neck Pliosaurs like ''Liopleurodon'' are now thought to have flukes on their tails, and not smooth lizard-like tails.
 In ''[[The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life]]'', it is mentioned that ''Liopleurodon'' might have lived in Central America. The specimen they are referring to is "The Monster of Aramberri", a large pliosaur discovered in Mexico that some considered was a ''Liopleurodon ferox'' individual<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2614477.stm BBC News - Giant sea fossil unearthed]</ref> though it is now thought to belong to another genus or its own.<ref>[http://plesiosauria.com/news/index.php/mines-bigger-than-yours-the-monster-of-aramberri-predator-x-and-other-monster-pliosaurs-in-the-media/ Plesiosauria - Mine's Bigger Than Yours! The Monster of Aramberri, Predator X, and other monster pliosaurs in the media]</ref><ref>[http://dml.cmnh.org/2004Apr/msg00337.html Dinosaur Mailing List]</ref><ref>[http://plesiosaur.com/plesiosaurs/aramberri.php The Plesiosaur Site - The 'Monster of Aramberri']</ref>
@@ Line 77: / Line 83: @@
 *''[[Sea Monsters: Prehistoric Predators of the Deep]]''
 *''[[Sea Monsters Adventure Game]]''
+==Gallery==
+<gallery>
+Liopleurodon beach.jpg
+Liopleurodon head.jpg
+WWD1x3 LiopleurodonBrawling.jpg
+P00b9clg.jpg
+Time map.jpg
+Images-3.jpeg
+</gallery>
 ===Notes and references===
+<references>
-{{reflist}}
 [[Category:Carnivorous creatures]]
 [[Category:Apex Predator]]
+[[Category:Jurassic animals]]
+[[Category:Creatures from Europe]]
+[[Category:Marine Reptiles]]
+[[Category:Marine Animals]]
+[[Category:Reptiles]]
+[[Category:Carnivores]]