New Dinosaur Discovery in Antarctica

A Bay Area paleontologist who specializes in Antarctic dinosaur discoveries announced Monday morningthat his team had made another spectacular find: the fossilized remains of a nearly complete baby plesiosaur that conjures up visions of the Loch Ness monster.

A massive volcanic eruption in Antarctica likely killed and preserved the long-necked, diamond-finned marine reptile 70 million years ago, said Judd Case, a field researcher for UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology and former St. Mary's College dean.

The expedition team knew the discovery was significant, but it wasn't until the fossilized bones had been chiseled out of the permafrost and airlifted to safety by Argentinean Air Force helicopters that the full magnitude of the find became apparent. The animal's skull had eroded away, but the entire articulated skeleton, cartilage and all, was still perfectly preserved in volcanic ash..........

topix.net