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Posts by Adam S. Smith, the admin of plesiosauria.com.

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First elasmosaurid plesiosaur from Montana announced

Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs are notorious for ‘losing their heads’. In fossil plesiosaur skeletons the skull is frequently missing, unfortunate because this is such a vital part of the anatomy for understanding the relationships and biology of the animal. This fact makes the discovery of a new elasmosaurid skull, the first ever from the state of Montana, all the more significant.

Research suggests long-necked plesiosaurs fed on seabed

The long neck of the plesiosaur is a mysterious adaptation for which many hypotheses have been proposed. The most recent suggestion comes from Dr Leslie Noè of the University of Cambridge . After examining the neck vertebrae of the long-necked plesiosaur Muraenosaurus, whose name translates as ‘Moray eel lizard’, Dr Noè concluded that the natural position of the neck was a downwards curve towards the seabed.

New ‘monster’ pliosaur amongst arctic plesiosaur fossil bounty

A total of 22 plesiosaurs have been discovered during an expedition to the Arctic island of Spitzbergen by the University of Oslo, Natural History Museum. The team led by Dr. Jørn Hurum and Hans Arne Nakrem also discovered ichthyosaurs – but the majority of the fossils await excavation when the team return next year.

The ‘Plesiosaur Directory’ recommended in Science journal’s Netwatch

I am honoured and not a little surprised to see this very site appear in leading science journal ‘Science’. Every issue of the journal contains a section called ‘Netwatch’, featuring a crop of recommended online resources – the “best of the Web in Science”.

Dublin plesiosaur on the move

South Dublin City, 6.30am, Thursday 10th of August 2006. I clamber into the passenger seat of a 4×4 – destination London. My travelling companions are Colin in the driver’s seat, and two suspiciously large wooden crates. A monster lurks inside: the skull of the Dublin plesiosaur.

Plesiosaur to go on display in Scarborough

A four metre long plesiosaur from Yorkshire known as the ‘Speeton Plesiosaur’ after the place where it was discovered, is now fully prepared from the rock and ready to be displayed in the Rotunda Museum in Scarborough, once it opens in 2007.

Plesiosaurus at the James Mitchel Museum, Galway, Ireland

I finally found the time to visit the James Mitchel Museum at the University of Galway, Ireland. The main plesiosaur in the museum is on display, mounted high on the wall at the far end of the museum (figured below).