Elasmosaur Fossil Discovered in Alaska Mountain Range Reveals New Marine Reptile

Researchers have uncovered a massive new species of marine reptile called an elasmosaur that once lived within Alaska. The new findings reveal a bit more about these animals, and tell researchers more about what the climate was like in the north at this time.

Elasmosaurs are a type of plesiosaur. They have extremely long necks and two pairs of paddle-like limbs that they use to swim underwater. They lived during the Late Cretaceous period about 70 million years ago, and this particular specimen is the first ever elasmosaur to be found in Alaska.

"Picture the mythical Loch Ness monster and you have a pretty good idea what it looked like," said Patrick Druckenmiller, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This is an exciting find because it is the first time an elasmosaur has ever been discovered in Alaska."

The researchers actually discovered the fossil in the Talkeetna Mountain range. Curvin Metzler, an Anchorage-based fossil collector, found several vertebrae in the area while hiking. He then went to the location again in June with three others and began excavating the skeleton.

The researchers have now excavated most of the bones, though there are still more left within the hillside. The scientists hope to recover the rest of the specimen next summer.

The findings should help the researchers better understand plesiosaurs in general and about the region of Alaska, which was underwater during the Cretaceous period.

The reptile fossil will eventually wind up in a museum for further study and for display.

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