Elasmosaur Fossil Unearthed in Alaska

Posted on August 1, 2015

Scientists have unearthed an elasmosaur specimen in Alaska. The fossil was discovered on an expedition to the Talkeetna Mountains by the University of Alaska Museum of the North. This is the first time an elasmosaur fossil has been found in Alaska. The above painting by Anchorage artist James Havens of life in a Cretaceous sea shows swimming elasmosaurs.

The elasmosaur lived in the oceans 70 million years ago during the Late retaceous. Like other plesiosaurs the elasmosaur had two pairs of paddle-like limbs for swimming.

The museum's Earth sciences curator Patrick Druckenmiller said in a statement, "Picture the mythical Loch Ness monster and you have a pretty good idea what it looked like. This is an exciting find because it is the first time an elasmosaur has ever been discovered in Alaska."

Several vertebrate from the skeleton of the fossil were first noticed by Curvin Metzler, an Anchorage-based fossil collector. He had been hiking in the area for 25 years and noticed the fossilized bones sticking out of a cliff. The skeleton was located about halfway up a 60-foot vertical cliff. The team was able to excavate most of the skeleton but they still have some left to excavate and plan to return next summer. The scientists estimate the specimen was at least 25 feet long.

The photograph below from the excavation site shows a portion of the elasmosaur spine extending into the hill on the right side of the small plaster jacket.


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