100 million-year-old plesiosaur skeleton discovery 'could hold the key' to prehistoric research - CNN

CNN  — 

The find of a elephantine 100 million-year-old marine reptile’s skeleton successful Australia has been hailed by researchers arsenic a breakthrough that whitethorn supply captious clues astir prehistoric life.

The remains of the 6-meter (19 feet) gangly juvenile long-necked plesiosaur, besides known arsenic an elasmosaur, were recovered by a trio of amateur fossil hunters connected a cattle presumption successful the occidental Queensland outback successful August.

Espen Knutsen, elder curator of palaeontology astatine the Queensland Museum, likened the find to that of the Rosetta Stone – the Ancient Egyptian artifact of granite rediscovered successful 1799 that helped experts to decode hieroglyphics.

“We person ne'er recovered a assemblage and a caput unneurotic and this could clasp the cardinal to aboriginal probe successful this field,” Knutsen said successful a connection Wednesday that confirmed the discovery, adding it could springiness paleontologists greater penetration into the origins, improvement and ecology of the cretaceous play successful the region.

“Because these plesiosaurs were two-thirds neck, often the caput would beryllium separated from the assemblage aft death, which makes it precise hard to find a fossil preserving some together,” helium said.

The find was made by amateur paleontologists known arsenic the “Rock Chicks” – Cassandra Prince, her sister Cynthia, and chap fossil sleuth Sally, who goes lone by her archetypal name.

Elasmosaurs, which grew to betwixt 8 and 10 meters long, lived successful the Eromanga Sea, which covered ample parts of inland Australia with waters 50 meters heavy astir 150 cardinal years ago.

Knutsen told CNN that erstwhile an elasmosaur died, its decomposing assemblage would swell with state that made it emergence to the water’s surface, and often the caput would interruption disconnected erstwhile predators scavenged the carcass – making full-body discoveries rare.

He added that due to the fact that the latest find was a young specimen it would shed airy connected however the assemblage signifier of elasmosaurs changed from younker to adulthood.

“We’re going to look astatine the chemistry of its teeth and that tin archer america thing astir its ecology successful presumption of situation arsenic well, whether it was migrating passim his life, oregon whether it was benignant of staying successful the aforesaid habitat, and besides into its diet,” helium said.

Ancient marine reptiles similar plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs are not classified arsenic dinosaurs adjacent though they lived astir the aforesaid time. Plesiosaurs evolved from ancestors who lived connected onshore and truthful didn’t person gills and had to aboveground occasionally for air. It remains chartless however agelong they could enactment underwater.

It’s the latest large find astir prehistory to person been made successful Australia successful caller years.

In June past year, scientists confirmed that the 2007 find of a fossilized skeleton successful Queensland was the country’s largest dinosaur. The dinosaur, nicknamed “Cooper,” stood astir 2 stories tall, and was arsenic agelong arsenic a hoops court.

Two months later, scientists discovered that determination erstwhile was a taxon of flying “dragon” that soared implicit Australia 105 cardinal years ago. The pterosaur was described by researchers arsenic a “fearsome beast” that snacked connected juvenile dinosaurs.