6 ms·

Australia's first complete plesiosaur fossil discovered in outback Queensland

75 points by adrian_mrd 4y ago

ljf 4y ago
Only tangentially linked - but blows me away how few fossil dinosaurs have ever been found in new Zealand: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dinosaurs_and_other_Mesozoic_reptiles_of_New_Zealand https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dinosaurs_and_other_...
- 867-5309 4y ago
  probably a combination of geographical isolation, late human discovery, small geo-/archaeologist population and recent volcanism displacing dino treasure
tablespoon 4y ago
Eventually plesiosaurs will become mythical. The fossils will be dug up and lost, the records fragmentary or unreadable.
- richardjam73 4y ago
  They are aquatic so most of the fossils will be located under the oceans and seas. We can only find these ones because the area was once a shallow sea that has since drained due to the sea level falling.
- moloch-hai 4y ago
  New fossils surface all the time. Plesiosaur fossils have been getting exposed, here and there, and then eroded to dust, for many tens of millions of years, and will continue for longer. Eventually, unless prevented, the sun will engulf Earth.
- rand0mx1 4y ago
  So, it can't be preserved digitally, like shown in star wars prequel.
ggm 4y ago
Complete is perhaps strong. At least one of every limb, but the entire torso, neck and head. Its complete head neck and body being contracted. It might be described as "substantially complete" or "mostly complete" or "sufficiently complete". It's the MVP of complete.
- hulitu 4y ago
  That's nothing. Wait until they find out it's copywrited. /s
prawn 4y ago
I remember seeing an opalised plesiosaur in a gallery as a child visiting White Cliffs. I always found that amazing, to find a combination of an already remarkable ancient fossil and then add opal. https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+plesiosaur&source=lnms&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+plesiosaur&source=l... Opalised ammonites also: https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+ammonite+&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+ammonite+&tbm=isch
abraxas 4y ago
it still blows my mind that fossilized bones can remain intact for tens of millions of years. I know it's mostly minerals at that point. Still, it blows my mind that anything is able to retain its shape over tens of millions of years.
- est31 4y ago
  It is a highly unlikely process that is the result of a chain of events, not just at the "creation" end but also at the "discovery" end: that the bones are close enough to the surface to be detected, but haven't been eroded away yet. The fossils we have are from hundreds of millions of years, we only got to get the most common species which lived in the places that were good for fossilization, the fraction of a fraction of all animals that lived. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-are-fossils-formed.html https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-are-fossils-formed.html
- brailsafe 4y ago
  Are unfossilized bones themselves not mostly minerals as well?
moloch-hai 4y ago
Fun fact, plesiosaurs are not dinosaurs. Neither are pterosaurs. The mesozoic was full of independent lineages that a single asteroid did away with. We are lucky to have the few that survived.
- boringg 4y ago
  Did you learn that recently because you have young children into dinosaurs or did you already know that information? Curious because Im now so deep into dinosaur era fauna (which is why i know that fun fact) and space knowledge as a function of kids, and its great!
  - moloch-hai 4y ago
    I have had young children, but have also been one. Besides the pterosaurs, I recently learned that proper dinosaurs appear to have evolved flight in at least four separate lineages, independently. The feathers came first. Doubt anybody will ever know why only Aves survived. I have seen a claim that the only birds that survived were flightless, and had to evolve flight all over again. (I might have misunderstood something.) Sauropods are to me the most mystifying of the proper dinosaurs, for purely mechanical reasons. So many unanswered questions. svpow.com
    - canadianfella 4y ago
      > I recently learned that proper dinosaurs appear to have evolved flight in at least four separate lineages, independently. Birds… and what else?
      - moloch-hai 4y ago
        They have only Latin names, and are not widely known. Jing-mai O'Connor seems to know about them.
        canadianfella 4y ago

75 points by adrian_mrd 4y ago

ljf 4y ago

Only tangentially linked - but blows me away how few fossil dinosaurs have ever been found in new Zealand: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dinosaurs_and_other_Mesozoic_reptiles_of_New_Zealand https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dinosaurs_and_other_...

867-5309 4y ago
probably a combination of geographical isolation, late human discovery, small geo-/archaeologist population and recent volcanism displacing dino treasure

tablespoon 4y ago

Eventually plesiosaurs will become mythical. The fossils will be dug up and lost, the records fragmentary or unreadable.

richardjam73 4y ago
They are aquatic so most of the fossils will be located under the oceans and seas. We can only find these ones because the area was once a shallow sea that has since drained due to the sea level falling.
moloch-hai 4y ago
New fossils surface all the time. Plesiosaur fossils have been getting exposed, here and there, and then eroded to dust, for many tens of millions of years, and will continue for longer. Eventually, unless prevented, the sun will engulf Earth.
rand0mx1 4y ago
So, it can't be preserved digitally, like shown in star wars prequel.

ggm 4y ago

Complete is perhaps strong. At least one of every limb, but the entire torso, neck and head. Its complete head neck and body being contracted. It might be described as "substantially complete" or "mostly complete" or "sufficiently complete". It's the MVP of complete.

hulitu 4y ago
That's nothing. Wait until they find out it's copywrited. /s

prawn 4y ago

I remember seeing an opalised plesiosaur in a gallery as a child visiting White Cliffs. I always found that amazing, to find a combination of an already remarkable ancient fossil and then add opal. https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+plesiosaur&source=lnms&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+plesiosaur&source=l... Opalised ammonites also: https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+ammonite+&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=opalised+ammonite+&tbm=isch

abraxas 4y ago

it still blows my mind that fossilized bones can remain intact for tens of millions of years. I know it's mostly minerals at that point. Still, it blows my mind that anything is able to retain its shape over tens of millions of years.

est31 4y ago
It is a highly unlikely process that is the result of a chain of events, not just at the "creation" end but also at the "discovery" end: that the bones are close enough to the surface to be detected, but haven't been eroded away yet. The fossils we have are from hundreds of millions of years, we only got to get the most common species which lived in the places that were good for fossilization, the fraction of a fraction of all animals that lived. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-are-fossils-formed.html https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-are-fossils-formed.html
brailsafe 4y ago
Are unfossilized bones themselves not mostly minerals as well?

moloch-hai 4y ago

Fun fact, plesiosaurs are not dinosaurs. Neither are pterosaurs. The mesozoic was full of independent lineages that a single asteroid did away with. We are lucky to have the few that survived.

boringg 4y ago
Did you learn that recently because you have young children into dinosaurs or did you already know that information? Curious because Im now so deep into dinosaur era fauna (which is why i know that fun fact) and space knowledge as a function of kids, and its great!
- moloch-hai 4y ago
  I have had young children, but have also been one. Besides the pterosaurs, I recently learned that proper dinosaurs appear to have evolved flight in at least four separate lineages, independently. The feathers came first. Doubt anybody will ever know why only Aves survived. I have seen a claim that the only birds that survived were flightless, and had to evolve flight all over again. (I might have misunderstood something.) Sauropods are to me the most mystifying of the proper dinosaurs, for purely mechanical reasons. So many unanswered questions. svpow.com
  - canadianfella 4y ago
    > I recently learned that proper dinosaurs appear to have evolved flight in at least four separate lineages, independently. Birds… and what else?
    - moloch-hai 4y ago
      They have only Latin names, and are not widely known. Jing-mai O'Connor seems to know about them.
      - canadianfella 4y ago