While debate about the Keystone XL pipeline rages on (I just read this very interesting piece on Scientific American about the project), the excavation of the Alberta oilsands has actually revealed some interesting science.
About two weeks ago, a machinery operator for Syncrude stumbled upon a nearly complete skeleton of a Plesiosaur.
- A Syncrude equipment operator found the remains of a plesiosaur while working at the oilsands. (Courtesy Syncrude)
Maggy Horvath, the woman who found the skeleton, said
As operators we always keep our eyes out for a find.
Can you imagine coming into work on the first day and you supervisor has to tell you to “be on the lookout for dinosaur bones”?
From the Syncrude press release:
“This is a very rare find. It’s a long necked plesiosaur, which is a marine reptile with a very long neck, small head and short body. The last one that was recovered was 10 years ago; it was recognized as a new kind and given the name Wapuskanectes,” said Dr. Don Brinkman, Director of Preservation and Research at the Royal Tyrrell Museum. “We are hoping that this is another specimen of this kind of plesiosaur. The new specimen is particularly important because it looks to be nearly complete.”
Plesiosaur on land
Well, that’s it. Now I have to go to the Royal Tyrrell Museum again and see me some dinosaurs!
(To the hardcore dino-fanatics: I know the plesiosaur is not technically a dinosaur, but damn it if it still makes me want to go see me some T-Rex skeletons)
