Paleontologists have discovered a plesiosaur fossil in western Queensland, Australia. Plesiosaurs are marine reptiles with a barrel-shaped body, long neck, short tail, and four flipper-like limbs.
During the Early Cretaceous Period, much of this Australian state was covered by the Eromanga Sea. The fossils of its ancient inhabitants still dot the area. But this time the plesiosaur fossil is complete. Because most of the plesiosaurs discovered so far didn’t have heads. It was therefore sometimes difficult to determine whether the specimens were of different species.
Prior to this discovery, the most complete Elasmosaurus skeleton ever found, called “Dave the Plesiosaur”, was unearthed in Far North Queensland in 1999. But even though it was 80% complete, “Dave the Plesiosaur” was still missing . “its head, its flippers and the tip of its tail.
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According to Jim Thompson, CEO of the Queensland Museum Network, this discovery could therefore advance paleontological research. “It gives us a great ability to understand the biodynamics of these types of animals, how they move, what kind of environment they have to have and how a skeleton is made up,” He explains.
Queensland Museum Network senior scientist and curator of paleontology, Dr. Espen Knutsen, led the excursion to unearth the fossil. He explains: “We were extremely excited when we saw this fossil, it’s a kind of Rosetta Stone of marine paleontology, because it may hold the key to understanding the diversity and evolution of Australian Cretaceous long-necked plesiosaurs.”
‘Because these plesiosaurs had two-thirds of the neck, the head was often separated from the body after death, making it very difficult to find a fossil that preserves them together. So let’s use the scanner to give us an idea of these magnificent animals. Adds.
In addition to the latest skeleton, several other plesiosaur fossils have also been discovered in western Queensland. They will be taken back to the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville for analysis.
The area is a gold mine, but Dr Espen Knutsen has urged those who find these fossils to contact experts quickly and to exercise caution, as “it can be very fragile.
