Monstertalk is a new sceptical podcast focussing on all things cryptozoological. The most recent episode (episode 004) delves into the idea that plesiosaurs may still be alive today, lurking in lochs and lakes around the world - the so called Plesiosaur Hypothesis. I was interviewed as a guest on this episode and…
The recent 'Sea Dragons of Avalon' symposium in Street was a great success - congratulations to everyone involved. See Darren Naish's blog Tetrapod Zoology for a full report - part 1 and part 2. I thoroughly enjoyed the event and it was an excellent opportunity to meet up with colleagues and even…
Well, my flight, hotel and annual leave (!) are booked and I'm looking forward to attending the upcoming Palaeontological Association Review Seminar: Sea Dragons of Avalon, taking place next week (Friday 31st July) in Street, Somerset, UK. Although I posted details on my website months ago and despite my best intentions, I…
The TCD specimen of the plesiosaur Attenborosaurus has spent the last few weeks being prepared and painted for eventual display in the geology museum. The plesiosaur was renamed in 1993 to honour Sir David Attenborough, who was recently awarded an honorary degree from TCD; we therefore took the fine opportunity to combine his…
There are several casts of fossil marine reptiles in the collection of the Geological Museum of Trinity College, Dublin. The majority of these are currently on display but the largest specimen, a cast of the holotype of Attenborosaurus conybeari, has spent the last half a century in the basement store of the Museum…
So far, 2008 has seen a healthy number of new papers on plesiosaurs and a few new taxa too. Way back in February, Druckenmiller and Russell (2008a) introduced Nichollsia borealis, a plesiosaur of uncertain affinity, based on a beautifully preserved specimen from Alberta, Canada. More recently, Druckenmiller and Russell (2008b) published a…
I reported in Summer 2007 on a four-metre-long plesiosaur skeleton that was discovered in Kreis Hoxter, near Bielefeld, Northern Germany by amateur collector Sönke Simonsen. I can now provide a short update on the fossil. The specimen was successfully excavated in ten large blocks by the LWL-Museum für Naturkunde, Münsterand, where preparation…
The discovery of a new plesiosaur specimen was recently announced by the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota, USA. 11-year-old Devon Zimmerman noticed the skull and part of the backbone on the bank of the Missouri River, near Pickstown, South Dakota, during a vacation with parents Duane and DeeAnn…