The remains of a 150-million-year-old dinosaur have allegedly been discovered by a group of fishermen in Siberia's Yamal Peninsula, according to scientists, although some experts are claiming it to be a hoax since the fossil is too well-preserved, UK MailOnline reported. For now, paleontologists are heading to the river to verify the possibly significant discovery.
Members of the Wild North Fishing Club were traveling down the Ruta-Ru River when their boat supposedly bumped into the head of the crocodile-like rock, which was apparently confirmed by scientists to be an ancient lizard or even a dinosaur.
However, several professors told MailOnline that they are not convinced, alleging that the fossil looks too good to be real.
"It was hard to miss, because the boat driven by my colleague Oleg Yushkov had bumped against it. It was not very deep there and he could discern a stone looking like the head of a prehistoric animal," said Yevgeny Svitov, chairman of the club.
After photographing the rare find and emailing them to the Zoological Museum of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology in the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia, scientists asserted that it was a fossil of a mesosaur, a kind of aquatic dinosaur which lived 150 million years ago, according to The Siberian Times.
But this is not the first time that unusual fossils have been found. Siberia's Yamal Peninsula, where the fossil was discovered, is rich in Cretaceous strata, known to contain a variety of remains, Inquisitr reported.
Pavel Kosintsev, head of the Zoological Museum, said evidence pointed toward a possible wealth of similar fossils in the area.
"It is necessary to carefully examine the object. But, judging by the photographs, I acknowledge that there are dinosaurs with sharp teeth and a large skull," he said. "We have dispatched an expedition there to investigate the remains and secure them for future study."
"At this stage though it's difficult to be precise about exactly what the find shows."
While the significance of the remains is being backed by the institute, other experts expressed skepticism to MailOnline.
"If it looks too good to be true, it almost certainly isn't," Dr. Tim Palmer of the Paleontological Association tells MailOnline. "If it was genuine, old and reworked then it wouldn't be in the apparently good condition that the picture tries to suggest. Especially in the pebbly and erosive bed of a river."
"My personal opinion is that someone has buried a stuffed crocodile - or even a large model - in a river bed in order to make some sort of mischief."
Meanwhile, Professor David Martill, a Reader in Palaeobiology from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Portsmouth said, "The picture of the skull is unclear because of the water running over it, but first impressions suggest it is something with a long snout and pointed teeth. Thus a carnivore. It could be a bear."
"However, there is the possibility that it is a much older fossil. Siberia is rich in Cretaceous strata which might contain any number of fossils reptiles from marine mosasaurs [a type of extinct marine reptile] to terrestrial dinosaurs."
"Why on earth the guys didn't haul it out of the water to get a better view is beyond me. Perhaps it is a hoax," he added.
Pictures can be viewed here.
