Scientists Identify a ‘Very Odd’ 85-Million-Year-Old Sea Monster, Say ‘The Fossil Is Full of Surprises’
A new study identified 'Provincial Fossil of British Columbia' as a brand new genus in elasmosaurs. This group of marine fossils has been beloved in Canada for a long time, having won a province-wide public poll in 2018, stated EurekaAlert. Though scientists suspected for a long time that the fossils were part of a new genus, it wasn't until they found some new insights that they were able to conclude this assertion. These new findings have been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
The team estimated that the now-extinct genus of marine reptiles moved around in the world 85 million years ago. The creature has been named Traskasaura sandrae by experts in the study. In the study, researchers claim that the creature belongs to a new genus because it exhibited a mix of primitive and derived traits that have not been noticed in any other elasmosaur. Though many specimens of this creature had been detected before, these new traits came to light only through the examination of a well-preserved partial skeleton from the Upper Jurassic Sundance Formation of Wyoming.
Researchers found that the unique combination of adaptations detected in T. sandrae would have possibly allowed this creature to hunt its prey from above, according to Popular Science. If the speculation turns out to be true, then this group would be the first among plesiosaurs to have this ability. Examinations have revealed that the creature measured around 40 feet long and had teeth that were robust, sharp, and heavy. Such features imply that T. sandrae could easily crush its victims.
Experts detected multiple autapomorphic features in the creature's bones. This means that such features were not observed in the genus's close relatives or ancestors and were specific only to them. Researchers concluded, based on their analysis, that the creature must have been a great downward swimmer. Furthermore, the detection of 36 well-preserved cervical vertebrae along with 50 neck bones showcases that the creature sported a long neck.
All these features don't align with each other, as per experts. Researchers think that the combination of these unaligned features aided T. sandrae in creating a unique hunting style. According to experts, the creatures possibly used their swimming skills and capability to dive from above to hunt ammonites in the water. Their robust teeth, then, perhaps, were utilized to crush the hard shells of these ammonites and get to the fleshy insides.
The first specimen of the creature was uncovered in 1988 along the Puntledge River on Vancouver Island, according to Discover Magazine. Since then, multiple specimens of the creature, like a well-preserved juvenile skeleton, neck vertebrae, and a solitary humerus, have been found. In 2002, the creature was first described by scientists. “Plesiosaur fossils have been known for decades in British Columbia. However, the identity of the animal that left the fossils has remained a mystery, even as it was declared BC’s provincial fossil in 2023. Our new research, published today, finally solves this mystery," F. Robin O’Keefe, a professor from Marshall University in West Virginia and lead author of the study, shared.
The genus has been named after Michael and Heather Trask, who were involved in detecting the first specimen of the creature in the 1980s, and Sandra Lee O’Keefe, a Pacific Northwest native who was “a valiant warrior in the fight against breast cancer." The name also honors Elizabeth Nicholls, who helped identify the species in 2002.