Christmas came early for researchers at the Royal Tyrrell Museum.
Staff recently collected the remains of a large marine reptile estimated to be 110 to 114 million years old. The specimen was discovered during a road construction project near Fort McMurray.
When an earth scraper exposed fossil bones, they were examined by an expert from Aeon Paleontological Consulting Ltd., who was on site.
In accordance with Alberta’s Historical Resources Act, Flatiron Construction, the project contractor for Alberta Transportation, constructed a wooden frame and tarp structure around the fossil so the ground could be thawed for excavation.
Dr. Donald Henderson led a Royal Tyrrell Museum crew to Fort McMurray on December 10 to examine and collect the specimen. The specimen was determined to be a nearly complete long-necked plesiosaur.
Although the skull and one flipper are missing, the rest of the skeleton is complete, including the tail. The body measures approximately one metre wide with flippers extending about one metre to each side. It is the fourth plesiosaur found in the Fort McMurray area over the last three years.
Plesiosaurs lived in the inland sea that covered most of Alberta during the Cretaceous Period.
While conditions inside the structure were comfortable during the seven-day process, temperatures of -35 C with wind chill made loading the fossil onto a truck a challenge. The fossil was transported to the Royal Tyrrell Museum earlier this week and is awaiting preparation and study.