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Judi Lynn

(160,545 posts)
Thu Aug 31, 2017, 01:03 PM Aug 2017

Car-Size 'Loch-Ness Monster' Was Runt of the Litter


By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | August 31, 2017 10:35am ET

CALGARY, Alberta — An ancient sea monster the size of a car might sound like a behemoth, but it was quite small compared with its ginormous cousins, some of which reached bus lengths, new research finds.

The 76-million-year-old plesiosaur— a Loch Ness monster look-alike that had four flippers and lived during the dinosaur age — was found in 2009 in the southeastern corner of Alberta, Canada.

It's unclear whether the reptile is a newfound species, but researchers are sure of one thing: "This fossil represents the most complete plesiosaur specimen ever found in the Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta – a rock unit that is much better known for its rich assemblage of dinosaurs," said study lead researcher James Campbell, a doctoral student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary in Canada. [Photos: Uncovering One of the Largest Plesiosaurs on Record]

More:
https://www.livescience.com/60264-car-size-plesiosaur-was-actually-rather-small.html?utm_source=notification



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