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Liopleurodon (pronounced /ˌliːoʊˈplʊrədɑn/, meaning 'smooth-sided teeth') is a genus of large, carnivorous marine reptile belonging to the Pliosauroidea, a clade of the short-necked plesiosaurs. Two species of Liopleurodon lived during the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic Period (c. 160 million to 155 million years ago mya), while the third, L. rossicus, lived during the Late Jurassic. It was the apex predator of the Middle to Late Jurassic seas that covered Europe.

Four strong paddle-like limbs suggest that Liopleurodon was a powerful swimmer. Its four-flipper mode of propulsion is characteristic of all plesiosaurs. A study involving a swimming robot has demonstrated that although this form of propulsion is not especially efficient, it provides very good acceleration - a desirable character in an ambush predator. Studies of the skull have shown that it could probably scan the water with its nostrils to ascertain the source of certain smells.

Estimating the maximum size of Liopleurodon has become a controversial subject.

Pliosaur remains excavated from Kimmeridge Clay Formation of England indicate a much larger taxon, possibly up to 15 meters (49.2 feet long), existed, however they have not been identified as being to Liopleurodon. A mandible on display in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History estimated over 3 meters (preserved 2.875m) was at one time classified as Liopleurodon macromerus. When the mandible was described, it was originally assigned to Stretosaurus (as Stretosaurus macromerus). The genus Stretosaurus later became a junior synonym of Liopleurodon. However, it has been re-classified as Pliosaurus macromerus.

The size estimate of Liopleurodon from the 1999 BBC series Walking with Dinosaurs, which depicts an enormous 25 meter-long Liopleurodon, is not considered to be accurate for any species of Liopleurodon.

After 4 years of looking, I FINALLY got my hands on a Chap Mei Liopleurodon.

Like all Chap Mei dino-sculpts, they start off pretty good with the head and front part of the body, then 'shrink' the rear half of the body so its not too long for the packaging.

The action figure toy is about 10 inches. No problem. Here is the customization I did:

1. Cut the body on half just ahead of the rear flippers and 'extended it' an inch with wires and putty.

2. Re-positioned the 4 fins to give it the 'flying look' so well done in the WWD episode on the Liopleurodon. Extended the rear fins by 1" so that they match the front. a single wire was drilled into each fin, affixed into the body, and then used to bend the fin into an action pose. The gap near the body was then puttied.

3. I replaced the tail completely with a leftover JP Velociraptor toy tail.

4. Added lots of putty to the body (both top and the bottom so that the size of the body matched the huge head. Before doing this I made impressions of the skin pattern, which I then pressed onto the putty while it was still soft.

5. Finally I repainted the entire figure to match the Liopleurodon from WWD, then mounted it on a stand on a wire.

My finished Liopleurodon is 13 inches long.