Palaeontologists who visited a remote property to investigate reports of a large fossil have confirmed a discovery dating back 100 million years.
abc.net.au/news/fossil-discovery-queensland-museum-townsville-plesiosaur/101735306The complete head and body of an ancient marine reptile with "flippers like a turtle and long neck like a giraffe" has been uncovered in Queensland in what scientists say is a rare discovery.
Museum of Tropical Queensland senior curator of palaeontology Espen Knutsen said he had been trying to find "such a fossil" for many years.Authorities will not publicly release the specific location where the remains were found."Because the head is so far away from the body at the end of this little neck, that's one of the first things that gets disarticulated from the rest of the skeleton.
"You can spend years in the field and not necessarily find the thing you need to unlock the answers to those questions you have … but it seems like we'll be able to draw some lines under some of those unknowns," Dr Knutsen said.Queensland Museum palaeontological research assistant Christina Chiotakis was on the four-person team that excavated the site over five days in October.
The team has packaged the individual bones in bubble wrap, plaster and wet toilet paper — to retain moisture — and taken them to the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville for further analysis.Queensland Museum Network chief executive Jim Thompson said the find would help researchers fill knowledge gaps in their collection of incomplete plesiosaur specimens.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Aussies are horrified’: Qld beef farms drive deforestationQueensland outpaces all other Australian jurisdictions combined in bulldozing forests for beef, a new report shows.
Read more »
World’s first mRNA vaccine for common illness set to be developed in QueenslandThe world’s first chlamydia vaccine is set to be developed in Queensland after French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi signed on to develop a number of new mRNA vaccines in the Sunshine State. 7NEWS
Read more »
NSW, Queensland ramp up compensation demands ahead of national cabinetA cap on coal prices is looming as a major sticking point in the federal government’s bid to secure an energy agreement as states demand compensation for lost royalties.
Read more »
NSW, Queensland ramp up compensation demands ahead of national cabinetNSW and Queensland are demanding the Albanese government guarantee their states’ taxpayers won’t foot the bill for caps on coal and gas prices ahead of a high-stakes meeting to find a way to cut skyrocketing energy costs and drive down power bills | ...
Read more »
Queensland man charged over 'childish' stunts performed in clown car and broadcast to 'thousands of subscribers'The 29-year-old from the Sunshine Coast is accused of further modifying an already heavily modified "clown car" and using it to perform "dangerous manoeuvres".
Read more »
Queensland man charged over 'childish' stunts performed in clown car and broadcast to 'thousands of subscribers'The 29-year-old from the Sunshine Coast is accused of further modifying an already heavily modified "clown car" and using it to perform "dangerous manoeuvres".
Read more »