The sea creature was found in the rural town of McKinlay, Australia, the remains of a “strange animal with the head and body of a marine reptile, turtle fins and a long neck like that of a giraffe;” something described by scientists as a “very strange discovery.” This fossil was discovered by a property owner in remote western Queensland, who sent videos and photographs to experts, which will now be analyzed by the Tropical Queensland Museum in Townsville.
Scientists stated that it is very complicated to find whole remains like this, even the head of paleontology at the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Espen Knutsen, said that he had been trying to find something similar for many years. “They are very hard to find all over the world, not just in Queensland,” Knutsen said.
Museum experts said that this discovery will improve knowledge about the evolution and diversity of the species. The reptile is thought to be about 100 million years old.
“You can spend years researching and not necessarily find what you need to unravel the answers to the questions you’re asking… but it looks like we’re going to be able to draw some lines under some of those unknowns,” said Dr. Knutsen, head of paleontology at the Tropical Queensland Museum.
At about six meters in length, experts believe the newly discovered specimen is younger than the plesiosaur fossils in the museum’s collection.
“They are very strange animals,” said Chiotakis, another expert analyzing the discovery. “They had flippers like turtles and long necks like giraffes, with tiny tails and big bodies. We’ve been asked if it’s the Kraken. We can’t rule it out.”
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva News
