Paleontologists Discover a Rare 165-Million-Year-Old Fossil of Marine Reptile, Provide an Insight Into Its Evolution

A great paleontological find shook the scientific world. A rare 165-million-year-old plesiosaur skeleton—which they named 'Eve'—has been found near Peterborough. It provides unparalleled insight into the anatomy of marine reptiles and prehistoric marine life, stated the University of Oxford. The incredible fossil was discovered in November 2014 by the Oxford Clay Working Group in a quarry then belonging to Forterra. It was Carl Harrington, an eager group member, who first spotted a small piece of bone protruding from the wet clay that became one remarkable excavation. After four days of intense work, Harrington and his team could carefully extract over 600 pieces of fossilized bone which took more than 400 hours of careful cleaning and restoration.
Measuring 5.5 meters in length, the skeleton of the plesiosaur is an exciting look into the marine reptiles that ruled the Earth's oceans during the Jurassic period. The specimen is especially notable for its distinctive 2.5-meter-long neck, barrel-shaped body, four powerful flippers, and short tail—a potential breakthrough in understanding these ancient creatures. Already, Dr. James Neenan of the museum and Professor John Hutchinson at the Royal Veterinary College have harnessed the technology of CT scanning, which has mapped the complex bone structure still encased within a clay block.
The fabulous 165 million year old skull of 'Eve' the long-necked plesiosaur from Peterborough and now at the Oxford Museum of Natural History https://t.co/WimwMsQQlj pic.twitter.com/Yelhk5Zvga
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"I'd never seen so much bone in one spot in a quarry," Harrington recalled of the moment when the snout of the plesiosaur began to emerge. "It was one of those absolute "wow" moments – I was the first human to come face to face with this reptile," as per the University of Oxford. His enthusiasm showed how big of a deal this is; it is an extremely rare find that might even be an entirely new species of plesiosaur.
The potential in this specimen really has the scientific world intrigued. Dr. Hilary Ketchum, Earth Collections Manager at the museum, said she is excited about its value for further research and teaching. "We are very grateful to Forterra for their donation, and of course to the Oxford Clay Working Group, who have dedicated a great deal of time, energy, and passion to the discovery and excavation of this fantastic fossil," she said, as per the University of Oxford.

Plesiosaurs were enchanting sea reptiles of a time shared with the dinosaurs, which roamed Earth's oceans for over a hundred million years until their extinction at the end of 66 million years. Considering their omnipresence in ancient marine ecosystems, most aspects of their biology and evolution remain no more than mysterious entities. The newly discovered skeleton presents one of those not-so-occurring occasions when such long-lived scientific enigmas get an opportunity to come unraveled in front of experts. This scientific importance increases considering the fact that the fossil belonged to the Oxford Clay, the geological formation laying across major English regions. This layer of rock, going back to the Jurassic period, is most renowned for the presence of marine animal fossils in its confines and, as such, has remained a treasure trove as far as paleontological research is concerned.