Fossil collector Steve Etches has returned to the cliff face near Kimmeridge in Dorset to save more of the world famous marine reptile, affectionately called the Sea Rex, which would have swum in the seas during the Jurassic era.
The skull of the giant and once ferocious pliosaur was excavated over three weeks in summer 2022 and achieved global recognition by featuring in David Attenborough’s BBC documentary, Attenborough and the Sea Monster.
Abseilers take the most direct route to the remains of the cave where the pliosaur skull was recovered from
Plans for a new £8 million wing of museum
Steve, the curator of the Etches Collection – the fossil museum in Kimmeridge – has once again abseiled 25 metres down a sheer cliff face to chisel out part of the vertebrae of the massive pliosaur.
It is a race against time to raise £500,000 to fund a rescue operation to save the rest of the body of the Sea Rex, which will involve excavating 20 metres of the cliff – and then building a new £8 million wing of the Etches Collection to house it.
The team has already completed a wildlife survey with Natural England to reassure them that no protected animals or plants stand in the way of a major excavation on the cliff top, outside a Site of Special Scientific Interest and which has permission to go ahead from landowner James Gaggero.
Later in 2025, they will submit a formal plan to Dorset Council to get permission for a two month dig to reach the rest of the ten metre long apex predator from the Jurassic era.
And if all of those hurdles are overcome and more of the pliosaur starts to come out of the cliff, they will be ready to urge the National Lottery’s heritage fund to match fund an £8 million extension to the museum to house what could be the world’s only complete pliosaur skeleton.
David Attenborough and Steve Etches examine the pliosaur skull at the Etches Collection
Steve Etches was concerned to see how much of the cliff face had eroded since 2022 when he returned to the scene last month
“The cliff is rapidly eroding”
Fundraising administrator Ben Blackwood said:
“Steve went down to the site a few weeks ago and has recovered some of the vertebrae, but also discovered that the cliff is rapidly eroding. We are losing about a metre of it a year and we think that we have at most two years before we lose the rest of the body to the sea.
“Where the bones that have become exposed to the elements, their condition is deteriorating rapidly and are starting to crumble.
“The rest of the bones going back into the cliff are fine, as they have not been exposed to the elements yet, but we feel that it’s now or never to get the rest of the body out, otherwise we will be picking out dust.
“The fact is that this is an incredible opportunity not just for the museum but also for the whole of Purbeck. We had such interest when the skull went on display, we had 70,000 visitors in 2024 when we normally get 17,500 – we have been calling it the Attenborough effect and trying to keep it going for as long as we can.
“But if the skull and the documentary can generate 70,000 visitors, numbers could be significantly higher if we have the rest of the body – it will be of huge national and international importance.”
Fundraising administrator Ben Blackwood with the Sea Rex skull which is now in the Guinness Book of World Records
Abseilers who inspected the cliff face say that time is running out for a rescue mission on the pliosaur skeleton
“This would be a world first”
Ben added:
“We are in the middle of getting a grant to be able to pay for architectural drawings of the new wing at the moment, then we’ll get a quantity surveyor down and have a better idea how much this will all cost. It’s a slow process but it will be worthwhile.
“There is no complete Jurassic pliosaur anywhere in the world, this would be a world first and if it’s anything like the skull, the preservation on it will be incredible.
“The skull has now been awarded a Guinness world record – it features on page 56 of the 2025 edition as the most complete and best preserved pliosaur skull in the world, estimated to be 95 percent complete.
“The only things which aren’t original are some larger teeth at the front which have been 3D printed in resin and placed in the skull – it turns out that while the teeth might have been very strong in life, but are significantly weaker as fossils.”
The site in front of the museum which is earmarked for an £8 million extension
TV show nominated for an Emmy
The Etches Collection museum cost £5.2 million to build in 2016, but building costs have increased massively since then, and foundations and footings will have to be piled in because of the soft ground, adding to the building costs.
It is anticipated that the BBC or another big broadcaster will want to make a second documentary on the hunt for the rest of the Sea Rex, which in turn could generate even more interest in the museum.
The original show, presented and narrated by David Attenborough, led to more than 1,000 people coming through the doors on a single day, is now being shown on long haul flights to Britain from America and was nominated for an Emmy award in the Outstanding Nature Documentary category.
Ben Blackwood is excited for the future of the Etches Collection as an international museum of Jurassic marine life
Hoping to mount skeleton in 3D
Ben Blackwood said:
“The museum opened in October 2016, and will have its big 10th birthday bash next year – but if we can achieve all of this in 10 years, what might be possible in a second decade? It’s very exciting, we haven’t even scratched the surface of what might be hidden in the Kimmeridge cliffs.
“Once we can break ground on a dig, then we can approach the Lottery Heritage fund to see if we can start to match fund for the extension.
“If we can show that there is a whole skeleton in there, it would be very difficult for them to refuse a request for funds to build somewhere to house it, and once we have their support it will make it easier for us raise money from other sources, including our original donors who helped us build the current museum.
“We are hoping that we can have the skeleton mounted in 3D depending on the condition of the bone, so that everyone can see the body – we think this one will be between nine and 11 metres long, as it was still a juvenile, but it will be amazing.”
The Etches Collection in Kimmeridge with the grassed area set aside for a new gallery
Further information
- Facts about the Sea Rex and other creatures at the Etches Collection are on its website
- Fundraising for the Sea Rex excavation is live on Just Giving
