Monstertalk Podcast – The Plesiosaur Hypothesis

Monstertalk is a new sceptical podcast focussing on all things cryptozoological. The most recent episode (episode 004) delves into the idea that plesiosaurs may still be alive today, lurking in lochs and lakes around the world – the so called Plesiosaur Hypothesis.  I was interviewed as a guest on this episode and took part in a long discussion about plesiosaur palaeobiology. I’ll admit that I was hesitant to be interviewed at first because I don’t want to get too bogged down or involved in the living plesiosaurs ‘debate’.

The word debate goes into inverted commas because very few cryptozoologists really take the plesiosaur hypothesis seriously, any discussion on the topic is less of a debate and more of a debunk. The plesiosaur hypothesis is really only pushed by 1. the occasional fundamentalist creationist under the (false) impression that a living plesiosaur would somehow discredit evolution (which it obviously wouldn’t), and 2. the media. The media’s fascination with Nessie is especially irksome, no plesiosaur-based science news story in the popular press is self explanatory or interesting enough, it seems, without the inevitable comparison with a fabled creature that doesn’t look like a plesiosaur anyway. This perpetuates the public’s only frame of reference for plesiosaurs as Nessie and does nothing for palaeontology and even less for science education.

It was partly with this in mind that I decided to accept the invitation to be interviewed on Monstertalk, but moreover it was an excellent opportunity  to talk about plesiosaur palaeontology and the real mysteries surrounding these fascinating creatures. Far more interesting than those mythical lake monsters I think, and I hope that’s how the podcast came across. I enjoyed the experience although I still haven’t had the courage to listen to myself twittering on. This episode is available to download for free here: http://www.monstertalk.org/wordpress/?p=164 and I highly recommend listening to the others too. Enjoy!

‘Bones’ the plesiosaur

The recent ‘Sea Dragons of Avalon’ symposium in Street was a great success – congratulations to everyone involved. See Darren Naish’s blog Tetrapod Zoology for a full report – part 1 and part 2. I thoroughly enjoyed the event and it was an excellent opportunity to meet up with colleagues and even talk to some Plesiosaur News readers. We also had the opportunity to see plenty of fossil marine reptiles during the symposium and field trip,  hopefully I’ll be able to talk about some of these  soon. However, perhaps the most unusual marine reptile we encountered was not a fossil but a sculpture.

Because the scheduled field trip to the quarries surrounding Street was cancelled due to the British Summer weather, a trip to the Dorset Coast was organised at short notice instead. One of the places we visited was the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre and there, hanging from the ceiling is ‘Bones’, a plesiosaur skeleton constructed from cane, paper mache, black tissue paper and black paint. The skeleton is the result of an art project supervised by local artist Darrell Wakeham, who used the help of children visiting the centre to construct the life-sized plesiosaur during a winter weekend in 2007. I consider all anatomical inaccuracies excused.

Close up of the skull of ‘Bones’ the plesiosaur

Sea Dragons of Avalon – Palaeontological Association Review Seminar

Well, my flight, hotel and annual leave (!) are booked and I’m looking forward to attending the upcoming Palaeontological Association Review Seminar: Sea Dragons of Avalon, taking place next week (Friday 31st July) in Street, Somerset, UK. Although I posted details on my website months ago (http://www.plesiosauria.com/seadragons_avalon.html) and despite my best intent, I never got around to plugging it here. In fact, Plesiosaur News has been worryingly neglected recently and it’s not because of lack of things to say – I will catch up with some recent news stories and new papers shortly.

Luckily, the trusty Darren Naish provided some fine publicity for the Sea Dragons event over at Tetrapod Zoology (twice in fact, here and here) so the turnout should be very good. I’m sure there will be plenty to talk about and plenty of photos to post on my return!

Plesiosaur unveiled to Sir David Attenborough

The TCD specimen of the plesiosaur Attenborosaurus has spent the last few weeks being prepared and painted for eventual display in the geology museum.  The plesiosaur was renamed in 1993 to honour  Sir David Attenborough, who was recently awarded an honorary degree from TCD; we therefore took the fine opportunity to combine his visit with the unveiling of the newly prepared and painted specimen. Sir Attenborough was able to visit the Museum Building and take part in the grand unveiling himself, which took place in the main entrance hall. After an introduction from Dr Patrick Wyse Jackson, the curator of the geology museum, the fossil cast was finally revealed.

Sir David Attenborough discusses the TCD cast of Attenborosaurus with Dr Adam Stuart Smith (left) and Dr Patrick Wyse Jackson (right).

The completely prepared and painted TCD specimen of Attenborosaurus on temporary display in the museum building main hall.

Days before the unveiling, nearly finished! The specimen being painted. We chose dark paint to imitate the bone and a white background for the matrix to highlight the skeleton and to match the other casts in the museum. I used photographs and lithographs of the original specimen as a basis for the painting.

Sir Attenborough was especially delighted to be able to handle the skull, which is preserved in three dimensions. He also explained that the he has often walked along the Dorset coast where Attenborosaurus was discovered and joked that there is always a chance of truly ‘finding himself’ there now. A framed copy of the lithograph from Sollas’ original 1881 paper describing the specimen was presented to Sir Attenborough who was kind enough to autograph a second copy, which will be framed and will accompany the fossil cast once it is placed on exhibit in the geology museum in the new year.

Trinity College _Attenborosaurus_ to go on exhibit

There are several casts of fossil marine reptiles in the collection of the Geological Museum of Trinity College,  Dublin. The majority of these are currently on display but the largest specimen, a cast of the holotype of Attenborosaurus conybeari, has spent the last half a century in the basement store of the Museum Building. It was originally exhibited but due to building renovations some time in the early 1950s it was placed in storage and broken into a number of pieces. Whether this was intentional or not is unknown, however, anyone familiar with the history of ‘the Dublin pliosaur’ Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni will know that this was not so uncommon a fate for large and unwieldy fossil marine reptiles in Ireland during the 20th century. The Trinity College Attenborosaurus specimen is therefore in rather poor repair and some fairly large chunks of the skeleton of missing too.  

Nevertheless, the specimen is still highly valuable in scientific terms because the original fossil no longer exists – it was destroyed in the Bristol City Museum during the Second World War blitz.  At least two other casts are known, one in the Natural History Museum, London, and one in the Oxford University Museum. The fossil was originally called Plesiosaurus conybeari, but was given a new name in 1993 based on the casts in honour of Sir David Attenborough.  See my Attenborosaurus page of the Plesiosaur Directory for more information and pictures of the other casts. 

 


Photos of the Trinity College specimen of Attenborosaurus before being cleaned. Due to parts of the torso being missing, for the purpose of this exhibit we have decided to display the neck and head as preserved in right view alongside the body preserved in left view. This will give viewers a better idea of how the complete animal looks but also means there will be an unnatural twist where the neck meets the body. The accompanying text will make this clear.

 

In collaboration with the curator or the Geology Museum, Dr Patrick Wyse Jackson, we have decided to put the specimen back on public exhibit. It is also timely because this project coincides with a visit from Sir David Attenborough to Trinity College . The segments have been brought up from the basement and have been thoroughly cleaned in a makeshift lab area in the museum. We have identified a suitable spot for display in the museum and are now in the process of tidying up and repainting the cast and designing the exhibit. I’ll post an update on how the project is progressing in the near future.

 

A tight fit - paper outlines of the segments show where the specimen will be exhibited in the museum.

Recent plesiosaur papers – a round up

So far, 2008 has seen a healthy number of new papers on plesiosaurs and a few new taxa too. Way back in February, Druckenmiller and Russell (2008a) introduced Nichollsia borealis, a plesiosaur of uncertain affinity, based on a beautifully preserved specimen from Alberta, Canada. More recently, Druckenmiller and Russell (2008b) published a large scale cladistic analysis of plesiosauria to try and make sense of plesiosaur relationships, especially the affinities of Leptocleidus and Nichollsia – this is a substantial piece of work. Both papers stem directly from Druckenmiller’s PhD thesis.

Sato and Wu (2008) erected a new taxon Borealonectes russelli, a pliosaur they identify as a rhomaleosaurid, based on a skull and partial postcranium from the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. rhomaleosaurids also recieved treatment from Smith and Dyke (2008) who described the skull of Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni - the holotype of the family. They also present a full body reconstruction of the 7m long genus, and a cladistic analysis dedicated to pliosaurs.

Rhomaleosaurus skeleton – Figure 2 from Smith and Dyke (2008)

Long necks received attention from Zammit et al. (2008) who investigated the flexibility of an elasmosaurid cervical column, confirming the common presumption that swan-like postures were impossible in beasts such as Elasmosaurus. Bardet et al. (2008) described a partial plesiosaur skeleton from Asturias, helping to elucidate plesiosaur diversity in the Pliensbachian and presenting a rare specimen from Spain.

Finally (for now, I may have overlooked one or two papers), Smith (2008) presented an overview of plesiosaurs aimed at a popular audience. It covers basic aspects of the anatomy and biology of plesiosaurs. I hope this article will fill the void present between technical papers and children’s books and help people ‘get into’ the scientific literature, which can be quite daunting otherwise.

Plesiosaur anatomy – Figure 1 from Smith (2008)

References –

Bardet, N., M.., Fernández, J. C. García-Ramos, Z. P. Suberbiola, L. Piñuela, J. I. Ruiz-Omeñaca, and P. Vincent. 2008. A juvenile plesiosaur from the Pliensbachian (Lower Jurassic) of Asturias, Spain. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28, 258-263.

Druckenmiller, P. S. and Russel, A. P. 2008a. Skeletal anatomy of an exceptionally complete specimen of a new genus of plesiosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Early Albian) of Northeastern Alberta, Canada. Palaeontolgraphica, 283, 1-33.

Druckenmiller, P. S. and Russel, A. P. 2008b. A phylogeny of Plesiosauria (Sauropterygia) and its bearing on the systematic status of Leptocleidus Andrews, 1922. Zootaxa, 1863, 120pp.

Sato, T. and Wu, X-C. 2008. A new Jurassic pliosaur from Melville Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Canadian Journal of Earth Science, 45, 303-320.

Smith, A. S. 2008. Fossils explained 54: plesiosaurs. Geology Today. 24, (2), 71-75.

Smith, A.S. and Dyke, G.J. 2008. The skull of the giant predatory pliosaur Rhomaleosaurus cramptoni: implications for plesiosaur phylogenetics. Naturwissenschaften, 95, 975-980.

Zammit, M.; Daniels, C. B. and Kear, B. P. 2008. Elasmosaur (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) neck flexibility: Implications for feeding strategies. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 150, 124–130

Update on the ‘Kreis Hoxter plesiosaur’

I reported in Summer 2007 on a four-metre-long plesiosaur skeleton that was discovered in Kreis Hoxter, near Bielefeld, Northern Germany by amateur collector Sönke Simonsen. I can now provide a short update on the fossil. The specimen was successfully excavated in ten large blocks by the LWL-Museum für Naturkunde, Münsterand, where preparation of the skeleton is well underway. It is intended that preparation will be finished by 2011 for a new exhibition “Römisch-Germanisches Museum Köln”. For now, one block is almost complete but from the first pictures the skeleton seems to be beautifully preserved…

The tail of the ‘Kreis Hoxter plesiosaur’ being prepared by Manfred Schlösser in the LWL-Museum. (Image by “LWL/Oblonczyk”)

The partially prepared tail showing the caudal ribs and chevrons.

Detail of the front of the block, the diameter of the vertebra is about 6.5cm.

For more information about this specimen see the previous post: here

Thanks to Sönke Simonsen for permission to use the photographs.

‘Pickstown plesiosaur’ unearthed in South Dakota

The discovery of a new plesiosaur specimen was recently announced by the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota, USA. 11-year-old Devon Zimmerman noticed the skull and part of the backbone on the bank of the Missouri River, near Pickstown, South Dakota, during a vacation with parents Duane and DeeAnn Zimmerman of Sioux City, Iowa.

They reported the discovery to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, who contacted Dr. James E. Martin, executive curator of the Museum of Geology at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Martin and volunteers spent a fortnight unearthing the specimen and have recovered about 60% of the skeleton, including a three-foot long skull – the length of the animal is estimated to be about 20-25 feet long. The fossil in now in storage in the School of Mines and Technology, but the excavation is not complete so additional remains may be found.

The Pickstown plesiosaur is short-necked but it has not been announced whether it is a pliosaurid or a polycotylid. Stomach contents were also found associated with the plesiosaur and consist of three different types of fish. The plesiosaur died with a full stomach. The fossil skeleton was found along with altered volcanic ash known as bentonite, which it has been speculated may have choked the animal to death after its fish supper.

Sea Monsters – Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep – book review

I recently read and reviewed Mike Everhart’s new book for the online Journal Palaeontologica Electronica, I reproduce it here:

Sea Monsters – Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep, is the official companion to the recently released IMAX movie of the same name. As Everhart explains in the preface to this book (and in the final chapter), both the movie and this book have their roots in the ‘Sea Monsters’ cover story featured in the December 2005 issue of National Geographic Magazine. The story introduced readers to Mesozoic marine reptiles, presenting information on a wide range of species throughout the Mesozoic Era, and from fossil locations all around the world. For the purposes of the movie, it was necessary to select a single geographical location and point in time. As scientific consultant to the Movie, Everhart sold the ‘Oceans of Kansas’ as the perfect setting for the movie; after all, Late Cretaceous seas were “probably the most dangerous seas ever on this planet”. And so it was that The Western Interior Seaway and many of its ferocious inhabitants were resurrected on the (very!) big screen. Sea Monsters, the book, allows readers to dig a little deeper into the history and science behind the movie.

Sea Monsters is a large format and highly visual volume. As one would expect from a National Geographic publication and official companion to a 3D movie, the selling point of this book is the imagery. Each of the 191 glossy pages in this book feature stills from the movie, numerous computer-generated artworks (including reproductions of those presented in the 2006 National Geographic Magazine cover story), historical photographs and photographs/illustrations of fossils and skeletons. For the most exciting visuals, however, don the complimentary pair of 3D glasses (to be found in a pouch on the inside back cover) and open up the 3D sections: between each chapter is a selection of three-dimensional stills from the movie, many of which occupy double-page spreads.

Chapter one asks: “what is a sea monster?” The question isn’t really answered (there is no meaningful answer), but allows Everhart to divulge into the diversity of prehistoric marine reptiles, with short sections on the origins and habits of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, turtles, and mosasaurs; and to outline their place in prehistory. The end of this chapter focuses on the Western Interior Seaway, setting the scene for some of the following chapters, which will describe the environment and food webs of the Late Cretaceous period. Chapter two looks at the historical context of marine reptiles, and in particular, the major scientists and ‘fossil finders’ involved in the discovery of the many creatures preserved in the deposits of the Western Interior Seaway. Chapter three reviews the fauna – all of the key ‘characters’ in the movie are outlined and illustrated. Chapter five provides an overview of the extinction theories proposed to explain the disappearance of many of the groups 65 million years ago. The last chapter comprises a ‘making of’ section. Much like Sternberg’s famous fossil fish within a fish, nestled amongst each chapter are short self-contained sections; these ‘Close Up’ and ‘Album’ sections provide a little more detail, or a ‘case study’, on some aspect mentioned in passing in the main text.

The scientific content is basic and aimed towards a popular adult audience. Although a separate children’s book is also available (Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
by Marfe Delano Ferguson), the style and depth of text in Sea Monsters- Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep, is certainly accessible to older children. The tone of the book is in keeping with the aims of the movie, to simultaneously entertain and educate. Marine reptiles have long been overlooked and overshadowed by dinosaurs in vertebrate palaeontology books and children’s books on prehistoric life, but this is slowly changing: look out dinosaurs, here come the sea monsters!

The book is available from Amazon for a very reasonable price.

Sea Monsters – Prehistoric Creatures of the Deep
By Michael J. Everhart

Arctic pliosaur is new species

Another giant pliosauroid plesiosaur fossil from Arctic Svalbard Islands appears to represent a new species. The specimen was discovered and initial excavations took place in Summer 2007. The treasure trove of marine reptile fossils were first discovered in 2006 by a team from the University of Oslo, Natural History Museum, led by Dr. Jørn Hurum and Hans Arne Nakrem; they discovered ichthyosaurs and a large pliosaur, which became known as the ‘Monster’ in the popular press. The new pliosaur was uncovered when the team returned to the locality – it seems to be the same species as the original ‘Monster’. The collected parts of the fossil include teeth, skull fragments and vertebrae, but the specimen is only partly uncovered and so the dig will continue next year. A more detailed review of the findings will also be presented next year.

Image by Tor Sponga, copyright Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway