Strongest bite for a marine reptile ever

Larger members of the extinct Pliosauridae group of marine reptiles are estimated to have had a maximum bite force of between 33,000 and 48,728 Newtons. They lived in the oceans of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Periods, between 162 and 100 million years ago and were the apex marine predators of their day.

Pliosaurs were a subgroup of the order Plesiosauria. Bigger examples, represented by species such as Pliosaurus kevani and Kronosaurus queenslandicus, might have attained body lengths of 10–12 m (33–39 ft), and some scientists posit even up to 15 m (49 ft) extrapolated from incomplete fossilized remains.

A remarkably well-preserved skull of a giant pliosaur (species to be determined) was unearthed from the Jurassic Coast of Dorset, UK, in August 2022 and is now housed at the local Etches Collection Museum in Kimmeridge. The bite force of the almost 2-m-long (6-ft-6-in) fossilized skull has been estimated at between 27,000 and 33,000 Newtons (N). At 95% complete based on surface area, it is exceptionally intact and, with further study, might offer new insights into the biting ability of these formidable predators.

By comparison, research has suggested that Tyrannosaurus rex had a top bite force of 53,735 N – possibly the strongest bite of any land animal ever. The living animal with the strongest bite – the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) – peaks at a crushing power of “only” 16,414 N between its molars. (For context, in humans the average maximum bite is 700 N.)