Sea monsters found in desert
Australia is emerging as a missing link in the evolution of giant prehistoric marine reptiles, says a scientist who has discovered what may be a new species of plesiosaur.
A team from the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum unearthed the remains of the creature in Queensland, at what was once a vast inland ocean.
Palaeontologist Dr Ben Kear says he thinks the reptile discovered at the Boulia site may be related to a group of long-necked plesiosaurs known as elasmosaurs.
Kear says teeth found on its jawbone provide the best clue that scientists are dealing with something new.
The jaw has a mouthful of "very large fangs" bunched together at the front and "no other plesiosaur ever discovered has teeth like that", Kear says.
More ...
A team from the University of Adelaide and the South Australian Museum unearthed the remains of the creature in Queensland, at what was once a vast inland ocean.
Palaeontologist Dr Ben Kear says he thinks the reptile discovered at the Boulia site may be related to a group of long-necked plesiosaurs known as elasmosaurs.
Kear says teeth found on its jawbone provide the best clue that scientists are dealing with something new.
The jaw has a mouthful of "very large fangs" bunched together at the front and "no other plesiosaur ever discovered has teeth like that", Kear says.
More ...
posted by John Michlig at 11:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home