Researchers from the University of Alabama have discovered the fossilized remains of a large marine reptile that reportedly dominated the seas 80 million years ago.
Middle-school student Noah Traylor discovered the rare fossil during a University of Alabama expedition June 20. The fossil was later confirmed to be the neck vertebra of an elasmosaur, which is a subgroup of the late Cretaceous plesiosaurs.
"Think Loch Ness monster," said Dr. Dana Ehret, UA Museum paleontologist in a press release. "They have very large flippers for swimming and extremely long necks, consisting of up to about 70 neck vertebrae."
Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs are best known for their large size, with some measuring up to 45 feet in length. The creature became extinct at the end of Cretaceous, about 65.5 million years ago. Finding their fossils is rare and this is only the second time elasmosaurid specimen containing more than one or two bones has been found in Alabama. The first fossil discovered was in the late 1960s and had 22 vertebrae.
"We find a lot of the more common fossils here, but this is a macropredator that is not normally found in Alabama," Ehret said. "It's really interesting because it gives us a bigger picture of what was happening in Alabama at that time."
The fossil was found in a small quarry in rural Greene County, a region commonly called the "Black Belt" and not near water, even though it is a marine reptile. One possible reason for this could be because during the late Cretaceous period, temperatures were much warmer than they are today, which caused higher sea levels.
The bones of the fossil are currently being unwrapped and prepared in a paleontology lab. They will then be washed and scrubbed to remove loose sediments. Ehret revealed that it will take several weeks to prepare the bones properly. They would also need to be hardened to ensure they don't later fall apart. Once the specimen is ready, it will be displayed in UA's Smith Hall.
