https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-07/fossil-discovery-queensland-museum-townsville-plesiosaur/101735306 Skip to main content ABC News Homepage Search Loading More from ABC More from ABC Close menuABC * ABC Home * News * Local & Radio * iview * Everyday * More Editorial Policies Read our editorial guiding principles * Accessibility * Help * Contact Us * About the ABC * Privacy Policy * Terms of Use * (c) 2022 ABC * * * * * Just In * Watch Live * Coronavirus * Politics * World * Business * Analysis * Sport * Science * Health * Arts * Fact Check * Other News HomeABC News Homepage Australia's first complete plesiosaur fossil discovered in outback Queensland Share News Ticker Live blog Catch up with The Loop, your quick wrap of this morning's news Live blog Keep up with the latest ASX and business news Flood warning For the latest flood and weather warnings, search on ABC Emergency 1 / of 3 Get breaking news alerts directly to your phone with our app Australia's first complete plesiosaur fossil discovered in outback Queensland ABC North Qld / By Rachael Merritt Posted Tue 6 Dec 2022 at 8:10pmTuesday 6 Dec 2022 at 8:10pmTue 6 Dec 2022 at 8:10pm, updated Tue 6 Dec 2022 at 11:40pmTuesday 6 Dec 2022 at 11:40pmTue 6 Dec 2022 at 11:40pm Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 44 seconds1m 44s Play Video. Duration: 1 minute 44 seconds Palaeontologists work to unearth Australia's first complete plesiosaur fossil(Source: Queensland Museum Network) Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article abc.net.au/news/ fossil-discovery-queensland-museum-townsville-plesiosaur/101735306 Copy linkShare The complete head and body of an ancient marine reptile with "flippers like a turtle and long neck like a giraffe" has been uncovered in Queensland in what scientists say is a rare discovery. Key points: * Palaeontologists have unearthed the first complete elasmosaur fossil in Australia * A property owner in remote western Queensland discovered the fossil * The fossil will be analysed at Townsville's Museum of Tropical Queensland Palaeontologists unearthed the complete fossil of the plesiosaur near the remote western Queensland town of McKinlay after a property owner sent images to researchers. It is the first time in Australia the head and body of an elasmosaur, a type of plesiosaur, has been found in one piece. Museum of Tropical Queensland senior curator of palaeontology Espen Knutsen said he had been trying to find "such a fossil" for many years. "They're pretty hard to come by globally speaking -- not just within Queensland," Dr Knutsen said. Drone shot of dig site showing large fossil in ground Authorities will not publicly release the specific location where the remains were found.(Supplied: Queensland Museum) "Very, very rarely you'll find a body and head together. "Because the head is so far away from the body at the end of this little neck, that's one of the first things that gets disarticulated from the rest of the skeleton." Dr Knutsen said the discovery, believed to be around 100 million years old, would enhance understanding about the evolution and diversity of the species. "You can spend years in the field and not necessarily find the thing you need to unlock the answers to those questions you have ... but it seems like we'll be able to draw some lines under some of those unknowns," Dr Knutsen said. Man smiles at camera next to newly-discovered fossil Espen Knutsen led the field expedition. (Supplied: Queensland Museum) 'Bizarre animals' swimming in the outback Queensland Museum palaeontological research assistant Christina Chiotakis was on the four-person team that excavated the site over five days in October. "It was absolutely phenomenal ... until you see them you don't realise just how big plesiosaurs can be," Ms Chiotakis said. Four people stand looking at plesiosaur fossil in dig site Christina Chiotakis (left) was part of a specialist team of palaeontologists on the dig.(Supplied: Queensland Museum) Measuring around six metres in length, experts believe the newly-discovered specimen is younger than the plesiosaur fossils held in the museum's collection. "They're such bizarre animals," Ms Chiotakis said. She said they had flippers like a turtle and long necks like a giraffe ... with tiny tails and large bodies. Digital recreation of a plesiosaur Researchers have recreated a digital image of an elasmosaur. ( Supplied: Queensland Museum) "It is odd to think we are finding marine reptiles, turtles and fish in what is now essentially desert in outback Queensland but back in the Cretaceous period [145- 66 million years ago] it was an inland sea," she said. The team has packaged the individual bones in bubble wrap, plaster and wet toilet paper -- to retain moisture -- and taken them to the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville for further analysis. Valued fossil discovery Queensland Museum Network chief executive Jim Thompson said the find would help researchers fill knowledge gaps in their collection of incomplete plesiosaur specimens. "This really is the golden age of dinosaur and marine reptile hunting in Queensland," Dr Thompson said. Two palaeontologists cover a fossil in plaster to make a cast Fossils are wrapped in wet toilet paper and plaster for safe transport to Townsville.(Supplied: Queensland Museum) "Putting all these pieces together tells a really fantastic story of how the Earth has evolved. "That gives us a lot of ability to understand the biodynamics of these types of animals, how they move, what sort of environments they need to be in and how a skeleton is put together." Meanwhile, Dr Knutsen said he would return to the site. He said he hoped another rare discovery was lurking just metres below the surface. Five people lay on the ground next to a large plesiosaur fossil A fully-grown plesiosaur can grow up to 10 metres in length.( Supplied: Queensland Museum) "There's bones coming out all over the place over there," Dr Knutsen said. "Even though people have been collecting fossils out there for nearly 100 years, there's still the potential that new things can crop up from these ancient eco-systems. "Anything's possible, who knows what's out there." Find more local news * Tell us your location and find more local ABC News and information Posted 6 Dec 20226 Dec 2022Tue 6 Dec 2022 at 8:10pm, updated 6 Dec 20226 Dec 2022Tue 6 Dec 2022 at 11:40pm Share * Copy link * Facebook * Twitter * Related Stories * Meet Queensland's newest state emblem, a 100-million-year-old plant-eating giant dinosaur fossils are pieced together to form a dinosaur and photoshopped against a black background. * 'Really unusual' fossil discovery sheds light on 100-million-year-old mystery Four cone shaped dinosaur teeth of varying size lay down next to each other. * A 'little baby' the size of an elephant: Meet Ollie, Australia's smallest sauropod dinosaur Dinosaur with people standing with skeleton pieces More on: * Cloncurry * Fossils * History * Julia Creek * Mckinlay * Mount Isa * Palaeontology * Richmond * Townsville Top Stories * A device in every Iranian woman's pocket could end her life. 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