US Hunter Finds Remains of Giant Reptile Living on Earth 70 Mln Years Ago

© Photo : Youtube/Audio BooksPlesiosaur
Plesiosaur - Sputnik International
Subscribe
In 2010, a US hunter accidentally found the remains of a giant sea reptile living in modern North America about 70 million years ago. On April 12, the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology published new surprising facts about the creature.

This is what my Lizard does when I wave to him - Sputnik International
Lizard See, Lizard Do: Polite Reptile Returns a Greeting
It turned out that the reptile belongs to the group of elasmosaurs known for their unusually long neck that sometimes consists of up to 76 vertebrae.

However, the skeleton found in the mountains of Montana has surprised scientists as it had only 40 vertebrae in its neck, Patrick Druckenmiller from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, USA, noted.

Scientists said that the remains of the creature found by David Bradt were largely intact and gave them a good opportunity to make new findings.

According to the article published by Druckenmiller and his team, the found specimen "exhibits a reduced neck length compared with other North American elasmosaurids, resulting from a reduction in both centrum length and number of cervical vertebrae (39-42 were originally present)."

Pareiasaurs - Sputnik International
One Ugly Reptile: Bizarre Creatures That Dominated Prehistoric Earth
The small number of vertebrae surprised scientists, since it indicated that elasmosaurs can have both short and long necks.

This contradicts with the previous understanding of their evolution. Previously, scientists believed that the ancestors of this "Loch Ness monster" had a short neck, which gradually became longer as elasmosaurs and their relatives among plesiosaurs adapted to the changing environment.

However, this discovery has shown that their evolution could have actually taken place in different ways depending on the conditions of their habitat.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала