The remains are the first known head and body of an Australian elasmosaur to be held in a museum collection
‘We were extremely excited when we saw this fossil – it is like the Rosetta Stone of marine palaeontology as it may hold the key to unravelling the diversity and evolution of long-necked plesiosaurs in Cretaceous Australia,’ Dr Knutsen said.
‘We have never found a body and a head together, and this could hold the key to future research in this field.
There are well over a hundred species of plesiosaurs currently known worldwide – some had long necks and small heads, and some had short necks with giant heads.
Elasmosaurus came to the water’s surface to breathe air and had slender teeth for catching fish, crabs and molluscs.
Scientists have discovered plesiosaur fossils with stones (called gastroliths) in the stomach area, showing they swallowed them to either grind up food in their stomachs or as ballast to aid in diving.
Queensland Museum Network CEO Dr Jim Thompson said the find would help paint a comprehensive picture of Queensland’s Cretaceous marine reptiles.
‘We now hold the only head and body of an Australian elasmosaur in the world, and this significant find will contribute greatly to vital research into Queensland’s Cretaceous past,’ Dr Thompson said.