Gargantuan Fossil

The Gargantuan Fossil is an enormous and ancient fossil, approximately three million years old, found in the Bone Fields. The skeleton belonged to an eel-like Leviathan Class super-predator dwarfing both the Sea Dragon Leviathan and Sea Emperor Leviathan, despite only being around one third of the whole skeleton. The remains consist of a huge, draconic skull and sixteen pairs of huge ribs. The skeleton is covered in flora and coral. The skull is so large that a Cyclops can fit inside its jaws.
Ribs identical in structure, though many times smaller can be seen in the entrance to the Lost River Junction, whilst a much smaller but otherwise identical skull can be found in the Ghost Forest, presumably from a juvenile specimen of the species.
The Precursors were also studying these remains, as evidenced by small, angular indentations on the ribcage. These samples were probably studied at the Lost River Laboratory Cache, as this was the main site in which Leviathan class bone samples are found.
== Size ==
The skeleton is enormous. The skull by itself is just under 100 meters in length, almost as long as the entire body of a Sea Dragon Leviathan. The two lower front teeth measure at 11.4 meters in height and the two upper teeth at 10.3 meters. The largest of the structures resembling eye sockets measure 9.7 meters in diameter.
The skeleton that remains measures at 402 meters in length, and with the PDA estimating that it is only one third of the complete specimen, the creature would likely have measured between 1,100 and 1,300 meters long.
== In Life ==
When this creature still roamed the planet, the sheer size of its body would likely have prevented it from surviving within the crater, as it is more than half the 2 kilometer diameter of the entire structure. As little is known of life outside of the crater, it is not clear what it could have preyed on or if the prey species still exists: the most likely living species would be the Reefback Leviathan.
They were likely very long-lived with a low reproductive rate, as a large population of these creatures would very quickly outpace the ability of prey species to repopulate.
== Data Bank Entry ==
The fossilized remains of an extinct super predator. Its sheer size would have prohibited it from entering such an enclosed space, suggesting the geography of the planet has shifted around it over time. A true apex predator.
- Dated at approximately three million years old
- Rib cage measurements suggest the creature was eel-like in structure
- Calculations suggest this is only the front third of the specimen
- The remains now support a vibrant microcosm of life
NOTE: There are a series of precise, angular indentations on the rib cage, suggesting a third party has taken samples from the specimen at a previous time.
== Gallery ==
<tabber>
Screenshots=
LRBF_Large_Skeleton.png|The Gargantuan Fossil
GF2.jpg|The miniature version of the gargantuan skull found within the Ghost Forest.
Skeleton with Ghost leviathan and prawn suit.jpg|Head with prawn suit
Subnautica 2020-09-14 02-23-59.png|The Gargantuan Fossil - Player, Seamoth, Prawnsuit, and Cyclops for scale
Subnautica 2020-09-14 02-24-22.png|The Gargantuan Fossil - Player, Seamoth, Prawnsuit, and Cyclops for scale (closer up)
|-|
Concept Art=
20150927 SN LostRiver Large.jpg|Concept art
|-|
Models=
Gargantuan_Skeleton_Skull.png|Model from Sketchfab
Gargantuan Highpoly Model.jpeg|Highpoly model from Sketchfab
WIP Gargantuan Model.jpeg|Older WIP model from Sketchfab
Gargantuan_Skeleton_Ribs.png|Models of ribs from Sketchfab
|-|
Size Comparisons= 
Skull.jpg|Gargangtuan skull size compared to Ryley, Seamoth, Prawn Suit and Cyclops
Skeleton.jpg|Entire fossil compared to Ryley, Seamoth, Prawn Suit and Cyclops
Skeleton whole.jpg|Theoretical whole skeleton length
2018-04-01 - 17,20,32.png|In game models size scale - Wasabi one, Seamoth, Prawn Suit, Cyclops, Gargantuan skull, in game skeleton and theoretical whole size
</tabber>
fr:Fossile Gargantuesque
Category:Lost River
Category:Skeletal Remains
Category:Extinct Species
Category:Leviathan Class