Bones of prehistoric water monster found in Alberta

Last Updated: Friday, July 6, 2007 | 10:42 AM MT

CBC News

Miners near Lethbridge have dug up what scientists hope will be the largest prehistoric marine reptile ever found in Alberta.

Dr. Don Henderson, a curator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, said the elasmosaur bones were found in May by two miners and an equipment operator at an open-pit mine south of Lethbridge.

Elasmosaur bones were found in May by two miners and an equipment operator at an open-pit mine south of Lethbridge.
(Royal Tyrrell Museum)

The elasmosaur, which looked like a long snake in a turtle shell, swam in the shallow seas that covered much of Western Canada about 72 million years ago.

The creature had a 12-metre long snake-like body, with seven of those metres making up the neck.

Henderson said it is probably the largest prehistoric marine reptile ever found in Alberta.

"It would have had flippers on the front and hind limbs, and then stretching out about three times the length of the body was this long, thin, tiny neck and a tiny little head at the front," he said.

"They weren't chasing after big prey — they were eating small things like fish, shrimp and squid."

Elasmosaurs are a separate class of animals, like dinosaurs, but in Alberta only little bits and pieces have been found. Partial fossils have been found in Saskatchewan and British Columbia, but this fossil could be the first complete specimen in Western Canada.

If the head of the elasmosaur is still intact, it would provide even more information on how species from this region compare with those worldwide, he said.

The scientists have taken the bones to the museum — in Drumheller, northeast of Calgary — on a flatbed truck, he said, but now have to wait until October to get the space to truly see what they've found.

The specimen won't be ready for public viewing for about two years, he said.