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The 36-million-year-old skull of a massive marine monster has been unearthed in Peru.

Scientists believe the skull belongs to a Basilosaurus, an ancient ancestor of modern-day whales.

It is estimated to be around 39 feet long, which is about as long as a bus.

Basilosaurus means king lizard' and although the animal was not a reptile experts think its long body might have moved like a giant snake.

The well-preserved skull was dug up intact last year from Peru's southern Ocucaje desert which used to be covered by sea.

Rodolfo Salas, chief of palaeontology at Peru's National University of San Marcos, told reporters at a news conference that when the Basilosaurus died, it most likely sunk to the bottom of the sea floor where it was quickly buried and preserved.

The rows of long, pointy teeth are all intact and the skull and jaw are in the right anatomical position.

Salas told the news agency Reuters it might even be a new species of Basilosaurus.

"When it was searching for its food, it surely did a lot of damage," he added.