Random Most Horrifying Sea Monsters To Ever Terrorize Ocean (11 items)

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  (#4) Mosasaurus

  The Mosasaurus became an international celebrity after its breakout performance in Jurassic World, and the real-life version is just as impressive. These giant reptiles could likely swallow most of their prey whole but preferred slicing meals into bite-sized morsels with their backward-bending teeth.

  Paleontologists have been studying these animals for years, and a recent discovery has shed new light on the early lives of mosasaurs. Researchers examined two baby mosasaurs and learned that they actually spent their early lives in the open ocean. This discovery has led some scientists to believe that mosasaurs gave birth to live young.
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  (#3) Helicoprion, The Spiral-Mouthed Killer

  Terrorizing the seas nearly 300 million years ago, the Helicoprion was a bizarre species of shark that sported one of the craziest sets of teeth in natural history. This unusual feature has been the subject of widespread debate in the scientific community for a century, and it’s easy to see why. The only fossils that have been found of this animal contain sets of spiraled teeth, and scientists are still trying to figure out just how they would have possibly fit into the shark’s mouth.

  What they do know is that, like many modern sharks, the Helicoprion most likely had to replace their teeth pretty regularly. And although many illustrations show the Helicoprion with a buzz-saw mouth, some scientists believe that the tooth-spiral may have actually been located inside the shark’s throat. Others claim it was more like a ratfish than a shark, with its teeth positioned at the rear of its jaw.
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  (#11) Ichthyosaur

  • Ichthyosauria

  Another of Mary Anning's discoveries was the Ichthyosaurs, a marine reptile that looked eerily similar to a modern-day dolphin. This is due to a process known as convergent evolution, which happens when species that are not related to each other evolve to have similar body shapes. 

  Ichthyosaurs also share similar body traits with mackerel and tuna, the fastest living fish in the sea, and it is believed that ichthyosaurs were incredibly speedy. Their powerful tails have the same crescent shape and were likely assisted by powerful muscles, allowing them to reach super fast speeds.
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  (#7) Livyatan Melvillei, The Whale That Ate Whales

  Named after Herman Melville, the author of Moby Dick, Livyatan melvillei was a massive species of sperm whale that is believed to have preyed on primarily baleen whales. This creature lived only 12-13 million years ago, which is frighteningly recent when it comes to the span of geological time. And while it is estimated to have been about the size of a modern sperm whale, it had foot-long teeth that suggest its food of choice was quite a bit bigger than your average squid.

  Modern sperm whales hunt by using suction - basically sucking prey directly into their giant mouths. Livyatan, however, most likely hunted in a fashion similar to that of orca whales, biting and tearing at their prey. And, yes, a human being could easily fit inside of Livyatan's mouth, making the whale in Melville’s beloved novel seem a lot less fictional.
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  (#8) Plesiosaurs, Almost Too Strange To Believe

  Plesiosaurs are made up of more than one species and lived about 135 million years ago. These long-necked predators served as the main inspiration for the infamous Loch Ness monster, and their unique anatomy has placed it at the center of controversy in the scientific community. Mary Anning, the renowned paleontologist who first discovered these creatures, was actually accused of forgery when she first brought a Plesiosaurus fossil to her colleagues. Interestingly, their iconic long necks were actually not very flexible, making most depictions of them fairly inaccurate. 
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  (#10) Leedsichthys, The Largest Fish Ever

  Even though scientists originally overestimated the size of this giant fish by whopping 40 feet, it is still considered to be the largest bony fish ever discovered. In fact, the Leedsichthys was so big that its gill bones have sometimes been mistaken for the bones of pterosaurs. Although they could grow up to 55 feet in length, their great size didn't make them great hunters. Like many sea giants, Leedsichthys survived by feeding on some of the smallest creatures in the sea: Plankton probably made up a majority of their diet, although it’s difficult to pinpoint the feeding habits of an extinct animal. Scientists believe that, even though the largest discovered specimen was around 55 feet, that these animals could likely have grown to be even bigger.

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