An gano burbushin burbushin wani tsohon dodanni na “gaskiya” kwatsam a wani gidan kayan tarihi na Ingila, wanda ya bayyana daya daga cikin manyan namun dajin da suka taba bin teku.
Kasusuwan kasusuwa guda hudu sune kashin baya daga wani nau'in da ba a san shi ba na Jurassic predator da ake kira pliosaur kuma ya nuna cewa halittu masu haƙori na iya girma kusan ƙafa 50 (mita 15) tsawo - sau biyu girman orca (Orcinus orca). Sabon binciken ya sake duba kiyasin da suka gabata don ma'aunin dodanni na tarihi.
A cikin wata sanarwa da David Martill, farfesa a fannin ilimin halittu a Jami'ar Portsmouth ta Burtaniya ya ce "Abin mamaki ne a tabbatar da cewa akwai nau'in nau'in pliosaur na gaske a cikin Tekun Jurassic na Late Jurassic." "Ba zai ba ni mamaki ba idan wata rana muka sami wasu tabbatattun shaida da ke nuna cewa wannan babban nau'in nau'in nau'in nau'in halitta ya fi girma."
Martill ya ci karo da kasusuwan ne a lokacin da yake duban akwatunan burbushin halittu a gidan kayan tarihi na gundumar Abingdon da ke Birtaniya Bayan ya ci karo da wani katon kashin baya, mai kula da gidan kayan tarihin ya sanar da shi cewa akwai wasu uku a ajiye. Kasusuwan, wadanda suka fito daga Kimmerridge Clay Formation, an gano su ne a asali yayin da ake tonowa a Warren Farm a Oxfordshire. An gano su daga wani ajiya mai kwanan wata zuwa kusan shekaru miliyan 152 da suka gabata a lokacin marigayi Jurassic.
Ta hanyar duba burbushin na'urar Laser, Martill da abokan aikinsa sun yi kiyasin cewa suna cikin wani dodo mai ban tsoro wanda ya tashi daga kusan ƙafa 32 zuwa ƙafa 47 (9.8 zuwa 14.4 m) tsayi, wanda ya sa ya zama mafi girma da aka taɓa gano na pliosaur. Kafin wannan, ɗayan manyan sanannun pliosaurs shine Kronosaurus (Kronosaurus queenslandicus), wanda ya girma zuwa tsakanin ƙafa 33 zuwa 36 (mita 10 zuwa 11).
Pliosaurs sune manyan mafarauta na teku a lokacin Jurassic (shekaru miliyan 201 zuwa 145 da suka wuce). Sun yi wa tekuna tuwo a kwarya ta hanyar amfani da filaye guda huɗu masu ƙarfi, masu kama da filafili. Wataƙila Pliosaurs sun kasance masu cin zarafi, suna tsalle daga ganima daga ruwa mai zurfi da duhu suna rataye su da hakora masu kaifi, kafin su murkushe su da cizon da ya fi ƙarfin Tyrannosaurus rex.
"Mun san wadannan pliosaurs dabbobi ne masu ban tsoro da ke iyo a cikin tekun da suka rufe Oxfordshire shekaru miliyan 145-152 da suka wuce," in ji Martill. "Sun kasance a saman sarkar abinci na ruwa kuma mai yiwuwa sun yi amfani da ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs masu dogon wuyansa da watakila ma kananan crocodiles na ruwa, kawai ta hanyar cizon su da rabi tare da cire su."
An fara buga binciken ne a mujallar Abubuwan da aka yi na Ƙungiyar Geologists. 10 ga Mayu, 2023.
