{"id":127401,"date":"2025-05-24T07:26:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T07:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/127401\/"},"modified":"2025-05-24T07:26:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T07:26:04","slug":"mystery-behind-terrifying-85million-year-old-sea-monster-with-giant-teeth-that-crushed-prey-solved-after-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/127401\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery behind terrifying 85million-year-old sea monster with giant teeth that ‘crushed’ prey solved after decades"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCIENTISTS have finally cracked the mystery behind a “very odd” long-necked sea monster found on the coast of Canada. <\/p>\n

The creature, which loosely resembles the infamous Loch Ness monster<\/a>, measures 12 metres and has large, heavy teeth. <\/p>\n

\"Elasmosaur<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

The bizarre elasmosaurus\u00a0is actually one of North America’s most famous fossils, becoming the official fossil emblem of British Columbia in 2023Credit: The Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Centre\"Paleontologists<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Three specimens, all roughly 85-million-years old, were found along the Puntledge River on Vancouver Island in 1988Credit: The Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Centre<\/p>\n

These robust gnashers were ideal for crushing and feasting on ammonites <\/a>– coiled-shelled cephalopods, according to researchers. <\/p>\n

The bizarre elasmosaurus\u00a0is actually one of North America’s most famous fossils<\/a>, becoming the official fossil emblem of British Columbia, Canada <\/a>in 2023. <\/p>\n

Three specimens, all roughly 85-million-years old, were found along the Puntledge River on Vancouver Island in 1988.<\/p>\n

Except one had a strange mix of primitive and derived traits unlike any other elasmosaurus, according to a new study, published in the\u00a0Journal of Systematic Paleontology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The fossils were first described in a 2002 study, when experts were reluctant to create a new genus based solely on one adult elasmosaur fossil.<\/p>\n

One fossil had a “fascinating and long list of autapomorphic characters” – suggesting it had strong capabilities for downward swimming, researchers wrote.<\/p>\n

This set it apart from other plesiosaur – the umbrella species under which elasmosaurus\u00a0fall.<\/p>\n

However, a new “excellently preserved” partial skeleton enabled this latest international team of scientists <\/a>to shed new light on the creature, and declare it a new species: the Traskasaura sandrae.<\/p>\n

“Plesiosaur fossils have been known for decades in British Columbia,” said lead author Professor F. Robin O’Keefe from Marshall University, in West Virginia, US.<\/p>\n

Stomping 50ft \u2018Mongolian giant\u2019 created ‘biggest two-legged dinosaur footprints’ ever found \u2013 and it even dwarfed T-Rex<\/p>\n

“However, the identity of the animal that left the fossils has remained a mystery, even as it was declared BC’s provincial fossil in 2023. Our new research… finally solves this mystery.<\/p>\n

“The scientific confusion concerning this taxon is understandable. It has a very odd mix of primitive and derived traits. <\/p>\n

“The shoulder, in particular, is unlike any other plesiosaur I have ever seen, and I have seen a few.”<\/p>\n

Researchers named the new type of plesiosaur Traskasaura, in honor of Michael and Heather Trask, who discovered the original specimen in 1988, and the Greek word sauros, meaning lizard.<\/p>\n

The species name sandrae was inspired by Sandra Lee O’Keefe (nee Markey) who was “a valiant warrior in the fight against breast cancer.” “In loving memory,” the team of authors write.<\/p>\n

“With the naming of Traskasaura sandrae, the Pacific Northwest finally has a Mesozoic reptile to call its own,” Professor O’Keefe, an expert on marine reptiles from the age of dinosaurs, said.<\/p>\n

“Fittingly, a region known for its rich marine life today was host to strange and wonderful marine reptiles in the Age of Dinosaurs.”<\/p>\n

He added: “The\u00a0fossil\u00a0record is full of surprises. It is always gratifying to discover something unexpected. <\/p>\n

“When I first saw the fossils and realized they represented a new taxon, I thought it might be related to other plesiosaurs from the Antarctic. <\/p>\n

“My Chilean colleague Rodrigo Otero thought differently, and he was right; Traskasaura is a strange, convergently evolved, fascinating beast.”<\/p>\n

The first of the elasmosaurus\u00a0fossils are currently on public display at The Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Centre in British Columbia.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/a><\/p>\n

3<\/p>\n

Researchers named the new type of plesiosaur Traskasaura sandraeCredit: Robert O. Clark<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCIENTISTS have finally cracked the mystery behind a “very odd” long-necked sea monster found on the coast of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[933,2397,209,70,1897,16,15,1899],"class_list":{"0":"post-127401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-archaeology","10":"tag-longtail","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-section-techscience","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-weird-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114561625998953454","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}