Paleontologists discover ‘unusual’ long-necked plesiosaur in Germany
In 1978, paleontologists discovered the remarkable, nearly complete skeleton with even some fossilized tissue surviving, at a quarry in the famous Posidonia Shale fossil bed roughly 18 miles southeast of Stuttgart. Initial analysis clearly indicated the specimen was a plesiosauroid—a family of long-necked marine reptiles that swam Earth’s ancient oceans. Researchers soon transferred it to the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History, but the creature never received a thorough examination. Instead, it remained within the institution’s archives for years.
After nearly 50 years of storage, paleontologists were finally able to carve out time for a thorough evaluation of the mystery. And according to their analysis published August 4 in the journal Peerj Life & Environment, the bones belong to a previously unknown species: Plesionectes longicollum, or the “long-necked near-swimmer.” The Loch Ness monster-esque reptile lived around 184 to 175 million years ago during the Lower Jurassic period.
“This specimen has been in collections for decades, but previous studies never fully explored its distinctive anatomy,” study lead author and paleontologist Sven Sachs said in a statement. “Our detailed examination revealed an unusual combination of skeletal features that clearly distinguish it from all previously known plesiosaurs.”
