Discover new marine reptile species of the same period of dinosaurs

Scientists have identified an ancient reptile that once swam in the sea when the dinosaurs dominated the earth.

Known as Umoonasaurus, this creature lives in the waters off the coast now Australia 115 million years ago, when the continent is still much closer to the South than it is today.

Umoonasaurus belongs to the plesiosaur group - large marine reptiles with round, sturdy bodies, short tails and paddle-like legs. The outstanding difference of Umoonasaurus compared to the rest is a series of slender crests, rising above its head and many of the vertebrae at the end of the tail are clinging to small fins.

Describe the head and neck of an adult (upper) and immature Umoonasaurus (bottom). (Photo: LiveScience)

This newly found creature belongs to an underwater carnivorous beast called rhomaleosaurids. "They are the equivalent of the Jurassic eels," said Benjamin Kear, lead researcher at the University of Adelaide. However, Umoonasaurus is only about 2.4 meters long.

Umoonasaurus fossils have been found in Australian opium mines for many years, since the late 1960s, but only last year, the latest analysis confirms that it is unique.

T. An