David Attenborough set to unveil deadliest predator ever's skull

David Attenborough is set to unveil the skull of the pliosaur, commonly called the deadliest sea monster ever.

The 155-million-year-old fossil was found in Dorset by local collector Kevan Sheehan. Since the discovery, scientists have spent 18 months removing the outer rock covering it to reveal the skull.

The scientists that examined the fossil have since speculated that the fearsome beast may be an entirely new form of genus. Palaeontologist Richard Forrest went so far as to comment: "This is an iconic specimen -- one of the most exciting we have seen in years.

"It was probably the most fearsome predator that ever lived. Standing in front of the skull you can imagine this enormous beast staring straight back at you, fixing you with its binocular vision, and attacking. Just thinking about it raises the hairs on the back of your neck."

With Dorset County Council's Earth Science Manager Richard Edmonds for the Jurassic Coast, later adding: "This is amazing. We saw this fossil initially as a pile of bones - and slowly, after a lot of hard work, it has come together.

"We are now told this skull is 95 per cent complete, and probably one of the largest and certainly one of the most well-preserved and complete pliosaurs ever found anywhere in the world."

The creature's skull appears to look like a giant crocodile and was described by the scientists examining it as a "biting machine". The pilosaur is believed to have lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.

The skull itself is 2.4 metres long and scientists have speculated that the creature would have been 15-18 metres long.

David Attenborough is set to unveil the creature at the Dorset County Museum. The fossil was bought by the museum for £20,000 using Heritage Lottery Funds.