Scientist seem to hitting it big lately, recently it was a "bonanza" of planets, now it's a "monster" of a fossil in the Arctic. Norwegian scientists have found a "treasure trove" of fossils belonging to giant sea reptiles that were alive and eating back in the day of the dinos.

The 150-million-year-old fossils were discovered on the Arctic island chain of Svalbard - about halfway between Norway and the North Pole. The finds were of plesiosaurs and icthyosaurs. They were discovered by Paleontologists from the University of Oslo's Natural History Museum, during fieldwork in a remote part of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the archipelago.

The experts say that the discovery was notable because of the sheer density of fossils in the area. "You can't walk more than 100m without finding a skeleton," so says Jorn Harald Hurum, co-director of the dig. Moreover, according to Hurum, what they're finding aren't just single bones here and there, they're finding complete skeletons.

The discovered hoard comprises 21 long-necked plesiosaurs, six ichthyosaurs and one short-necked plesiosaur. A sea dino graveyard. One skeleton was even nicknamed "Monster" because of its humongous size.

Experts speculate that perhaps the unusual chemistry in the mud of that area may be responsible for the remarkable preservation of the specimens, as some skeletons are still pale white even though they're in black shale - in short some still look like roadkill.

The museum plans to return to the site in the summer of 2007 to resume excavation.