Arthritic, scavenged and largely abandoned: the curious tale of a giant pliosaur from the Kimmeridge Clay at Stretham, Cambridgeshire, U.K.

A substantial part of an exceptionally large pliosaur skeleton was uncovered in Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay at Stretham in 1952. Relatively few bones were collected without delay by palaeontologists before members of the public were permitted to take what they wanted. When the importance of the find became evident, attempts were made to recover the material that had been dispersed. Two further discoveries of pliosaur bones dating from 1960 are assumed to belong to the same animal. About one-quarter of the post-cranial skeleton, together with four teeth and a few possible jaw fragments, are held in a museum collection.The osteological maturity, length and pathology of the specimen have not been firmly established; and its scientific name has fallen victim to the mistaken identification of a crucial skeletal element, to a baseless association with the mandible of an unconnected fossil, to changing views on the bones that are taxonomically significant and to the frequent revision of Late Jurassic pliosaurid taxonomy. A fresh study of the rather limited material that is available might lead to a reconciliation of some of these issues. In the meantime, a comprehensive review of every significant published paper and of unpublished material relating to the discovery, collection and examination of the Stretham pliosaur is presented here.