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Liopleurodon vs Megalodon Anonymous
Of course, this face off never took place; Liopleurodon was extinct long before Megalodon evolved, and the latter never got to meet a pliosaur. Luckily for both of them...
>> Anonymous
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Despite to bias of the picture, I'd say the mega. If for no other reason than hunting styles. Megas, like whites, were thought to quickly shoot up from the depths mortally wounding prey. Liopleurodon strikes me as a carrion eater.
>> Anonymous
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Although i find Leopluradon to be a much cooler animal. (Marine reptiles, RIP. The planet just isn't the same without you)

Hunting style, but mostly speed. Leo doens't look all too fast with that flipper action. Sharks, on the other hand, can haul ass. A lot more maneuverability as well.
>> Anonymous
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So, are we talking a normal Liopleurodon or a magical Liopleurodon?
>> Anonymous
>>323473

That's actually a mosasaurus being pwn3d by a Cretaceous shark, not megalodon
>> Anonymous
>>323473
That's actually Cretoxyrhina (which was roughly Great White-sized, fairly small by Cretacous standards) and a small mosasaur iirc. I've got that illustration in a book on the Cretaceous inland sea...
>> Anonymous
>>323509
>>323529

Prehistoric animal nerds <3.
You guys make me so happy.
>> Anonymous
>>323529

Yeah, that's it.

the largest mosasaurs were 50+ feet long. I doubt even Megalodon would've beat them in a fight.
>> Anonymous
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>>323501
How about a magical flying Tylosaurus?
>> Anonymous
>>323619
holy fuck!
>> Anonymous
its a magical leoplurodon!
>> Anonymous
Giant marine reptiles seem not to have allowed the sharks to evolve anything resembling megalodon in the mesozoic, which makes me wonder if whales are somehow inferior to them as marine megapredators. There have been a couple of big predatory whales, but nothing comparable to the diversity of huge deadly Mesozoic sea reptiles. So, my guess is that Liopleurodon, Kronosaurus, Hainosaurus or Tylosaurus might have fared well against a Megalodon, at least on their own turf (surf?) though the battle would probably be determined on which one got the drop on the other.
>> Anonymous
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Anyone still holding on to the hope that 25 m pliosaurs really existed, you need to hear this. It comes from a scientist working on a fossil pliosaur found in Mexico, nicknamed the Monster of Aramberri. The beast itself is around 15-18 m long, which is impressive in itself, but it's just a juvenile! It could easily have reached the length of 20 m as it grew up.

Not impressed yet? Then get this: the monster had been killed by another pliosaur by a bite right through the skull. It had left a clear mark of a tooth so big that no known pliosaur specimen sports such weapons. The tooth was about 40 cm (1.3 ft) long, and that's not including the root! Based on the tooth size the killer may well have been within the 25 m estimate. And since we're unlikely to find the largest ever specimen represented in the fossil record, there may have been bigger ones out there still!
>> Poor liopleurodon Anonymous
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lol
>> Anonymous
>>323490
Actually, sharks aren't terribly maneuverable as far as marine predators go. Seals, sea lions, and penguins can pull turns much faster than sharks and whales (which is essentially the only way they ever escape) because of their well articulated flippers. I'd say the Liopleurodon would be a good example of this type of adaptation and would therefore be more maneuverable than a shark.
>> Anonymous
>>323776
It's sad there's no single species alive today that utilizes the plio/plesiosaur type four-flippered swimming. I wonder if they could swim backwards?
>> Anonymous
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>>323786

Now that i think about it... these guys sorta do.

They're pretty fast, as well. They use the hind flippers more for steering than moving. But using them as an analogy, i can see how Leos could be pretty maneuverable.
Still, the shark has them for speed.
>> Anonymous
>>323813
That's the two-flippered method. Same as used by penguins and sea lions too.
>> Anonymous
>>323776

The only real advantage the shark has above reptiles/birds/mammals is that they don't need to come up for air.

There needs to be more aquatic predatory birds: http://www.bowdoin.edu/~dbensen/Spec/Sphenisciformes.html