Stories tagged Spitsbergen


Pliosaur: Credit: Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, Norway  Artwork by Tor Sponga, BT

Marine reptile burial ground found

Norwegian scientists have discovered a "treasure trove" of fossils belonging to giant sea reptiles that roamed the seas at the time of the dinosaurs. The 150 million year-old Jurassic fossils were discovered while conducting fieldwork in a remote locality on the island of Spitsbergen, approximately 800 miles from the North Pole.

The Svalbard locality represents one of the most important new sites for marine reptiles to have been discovered in the last several decades. In terms of number, a remarkable 28 new individuals were documented during the short two-week field period, nine of which are believed to be significant discoveries. This tally, which includes 21 long-necked plesiosaurs, six ichthyosaurs and one short necked plesiosaur, ranks Svalbard as one of the most productive sites for marine reptiles in the world. The fossilized remains are also very well preserved, and most of the skeletons are articulated, with the bones still lying in their original life position. University of Oslo, Natural History Museum

A skeleton of a pliosaur promises to be one of the largest ever discovered. Over 30 feet long with a six foot skull, the find is referred to as "the monster". A large number of photos documenting these finds are on the Naturhistorisk museum website. A plesiosaur is pictured being eaten by the pliosaur. Ichthyosaurs were another food source represented in the fossil treasue trove.

Unconserved, these specimens would crumble due to repeated freezing and thawing during the cold winters and fairly temperate summers in Svalbard. The destruction of these fossils is being prevented by wrapping them in a “field jackets” and bringing them back to the museum.