- OSLO (AFP) -- Norwegian scientists
have discovered fossils in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard of a hitherto
unknown species of giant marine lizards who lived 160 million years ago,
one of the scientists announced.
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- "We have found the remains of at least ten skeletons
spread across a surface equivalent to two football fields," Joern
Hurum, a geology professor at the University of Oslo, told AFP.
-
- The fossils, which according to Hurum date from the Mesozoic
Era (lasting from 230 million to 65 million years before our era), are
of plesiosauruses, large marine reptiles with paddlelike limbs, and of
an until now unknown ichthyosaurus species: large reptiles that resemble
sharks.
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- "These are colossal animals that measure between
four and 10 meters (13 and 33 feet). Everything that increases our knowledge
of these animals is exciting," Hurum said.
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- "I am 99 percent sure that we're talking about a
new species because the closest areas where other ichthyosauruses have
been found are in Germany and in Britain," he added.
-
- At a latitude of 78 degrees north, the Norwegian archipelago
of Svalbard is separated from the North Pole by a mere 1,000 kilometers
(621 miles).
-
- A few hundred ichthyosaurus species are already known.
Living solely in water, these reptiles had short, biconcave vertebrae resembling
those of fish, and could vary in length from ten to thirty feet. They fed
on cephalopods (mollusks like octopus, and squid) and on fish.
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- The pieces found have been well preserved but are quite
fragmented, according to Hurum.
-
- "There are tons of small pieces which are smaller
than the nail of a flea," he said.
-
- The permafrost in Svalbard makes it impossible for digs
to take place for more than one month each year, so it should take scientists
about three years to excavate all the pieces of the puzzle.
-
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-
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