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yesterday

85-Million-Year-Old Elasmosaur Fossil Confirmed as New Genus Traskasaura sandrae

Decades after its discovery on Vancouver Island, the marine reptile is officially recognized and named in a new study, highlighting its unique traits and hunting adaptations.

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Museum display of Traskasaura in The Courtenay and District Museum and Palaeontology Centre.
British Columbia officially designated a large, fierce-looking marine reptile with a mouthful of pointy teeth that made its home about 80 million years ago in Vancouver Island waters as the province's official fossil emblem. A fossil of a Puntledge River elasmosaur is shown at the Museum and Palaeontology Centre in Courtenay, B.C., in this undated handout photo.
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Overview

  • Traskasaura sandrae, an elasmosaur discovered in 1988, has been formally classified as a new genus and species in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology.
  • The identification resolves decades of taxonomic uncertainty, facilitated by the discovery of a well-preserved juvenile skeleton in 2020.
  • The species exhibits unique anatomical features, including a downward-opening shoulder and robust teeth, suggesting a novel hunting style of diving on prey from above.
  • Named to honor discoverers Michael and Heather Trask and Sandra Lee O’Keefe, the fossils are displayed at the Courtenay and District Museum and Paleontology Centre in British Columbia.
  • Declared British Columbia’s official provincial fossil in 2023, Traskasaura sandrae highlights the region's rich paleontological heritage and marine biodiversity during the Late Cretaceous.