“Nessie” found in Australia

The fossilised bones of the seven-metre (23-feet) reptile were found by a team of four scientists from the South Australian Museum (in the far north of South Australia state). "Potentially, we're looking at an animal new to science," the leader of the team, palaeontologist Ben Kear, told The Australian newspaper the 18 November 2002. Experts say plesiosaurs lived between 220 and 65 million years ago during the cretaceous and Jurassic periods. The scientists have to examine the bones carefully first before they could say whether it is an unknown creature.

The scientists have now returned to the site to excavate the more of the bones which they originally found three months ago. Like other palaeontologists, the team has been covering its tracks, hiding the fossils for excavation later and using satellite tracking to relocate the prehistoric site to protect from poachers.

Stein Morten Lund, 11 December 2002

Additional information:

Source: The Australian (newspaper): www.theaustralian.news.com.au

For further information on Travel Explorations: • Read more about Nessie and Scotland on our website. • Here you can also read about other similar creatures around the world (Norway, China, Australia etc).