One of the most terrifying monsters of the dinosaur era has emerged almost intact, with its head and body preserved in ancient rock in Western Queensland, Australia.
According to Sci-News, the original specimens were discovered by a group of amateur fossil hunters known as the “Rock Chicks,” and later collected and studied by a team of scientists led by paleontologist Espen Knutsen from the Queensland Museum Network.
It has been identified as a member of the species Eromangasaurus australis, which belongs to the fearsome group of marine reptiles known as elasmosaurids. This genus, referred to as “snake-headed lizards,” is famous for its long, snake-like neck topped with a bizarre head featuring a long snout and sharp teeth, while its body closely resembles the typical dinosaur shape, with four limbs replaced by four large, powerful flippers.
Photo of the fossil among paleontologists, enhanced with graphics to visualize the super monster when it was alive – Image: QUEENSLAND MUSEUM
The Eromangasaurus australis lived approximately 100 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, preying on fish and squid in the monstrous seas of the dinosaur age.
Dr. Knutsen stated that this would be the first known head and body of an Eromangasaurus australis to be displayed in the collection of the Queensland Museum.
“We are incredibly excited to see this fossil – it is like the Rosetta Stone of marine paleontology because it could hold the key to understanding the diversity and evolution of snake-headed lizards from the Cretaceous in Australia,” he added.
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite slab inscribed with a decree issued in Memphis in 196 BC by Pharaoh Ptolemy V, written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, ancient Greek, and Demotic script. This stone provided modern humanity with the first basis for translating Egyptian hieroglyphs, which had been lost for many centuries.
The recently unearthed fossil is also expected to serve as a “illuminating” slab, due to its completeness from the condition of the specimen to its undisturbed arrangement.
Terrifying portrait of the Cretaceous super monster – (Image: SCITECH DAILY).
“Because these snake-headed lizards have two-thirds of their bodies made up of neck, it is common for the head to separate from the body after death, making it very difficult to find fossils that preserve both together,” Dr. Knutsen explained.
The Executive Director of the Queensland Museum Network, Dr. Jim Thompson, stated: “We currently hold the only head and body of an Eromangasaurus australis in the world, and this important discovery will greatly contribute to vital research about the Cretaceous period in Queensland.”
Paleontologists noted that during the early Cretaceous period, much of Queensland was covered by a vast shallow sea known as the Eromanga Sea.
As a result, fossil remains of ancient marine creatures, including marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs, are often found throughout the state, gradually completing the picture of a “marine monster ecosystem” that is both mysterious and fierce.
