[Rockhounds] Scientists stunned by find in Outback desert

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

In an Australian first, palaeontologists have uncovered the head and body
of a 100-million-year-old Plesiosaurs – a long neck marine reptile – in the
Queensland desert.

The fossil, which was uncovered near Mckinlay in Western Queensland, has
been labelled the “the Rosetta stone of marine reptile palaeontology” by
those involved after it was discovered by ‘The Rock Chicks’ – a trio of
fossil hunters led by an outback Queensland station owner.

Experts believe the new fossil may hold the key to unlocking the mystery
around Australian plesiosaurs.

The new skeleton and several other plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs fossils
discovered and collected on the field trip are now in the process of being
taken to Townsville for preparation and further research.

Queensland Museum <https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/> Network senior scientist and
curator of palaeontology Dr Espen Knutsen described the magnitude of the
find – stating it would become the first known head and body of an
Australian elasmosaurus to be held in a museum collection.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/natural-wonders/scientists-stunned-by-find-in-outback-desert/news-story/d7a5c4cbcba95ed142a04fae2c6070b5