After decades of ambiguity, scientists have identified a new gender of marine seals – which are giant naval reptiles that lived during the era of dinosaurs – called “Traskasura Sandray”, which was characterized by characteristics that have not seen before in any of his species, as he had a long neck and strong teeth revealing a unique hunting style.
According to To study It was published on May 23 in the Journal of the Paltimologist, this creature was found on May 1988 on Vancouver Island, and later became the official fossil of the British Columbia province in Canada.
A strange mix of attributes
“I have always been known as the Elamps in British Columbia, but the identity of the object that left these bones was mysterious. Our new research finally solved this puzzle,” says the leader of the study in the study, Robin Okif, a professor of marine excavations at Marshall University in the West Virginia State, in the United States.
He adds in statements to “Al -Jazeera Net”: “This object is very strange, the shoulder alone is not similar to any kind of fierce sea reptiles, I saw it in my life, and I have seen a lot. We are talking about a really amazing anatomical design.”
The researcher notes that Traskasura Sandrawi has a unique mixture of primitive and developed features, which makes its classification within the Elamps a scientific challenge that has continued for decades.
Okev explains that although the excavations date back to 85 million years ago, its first discovery dates back to 1988, when the couple Michael and Hasher Taraf found the first skeleton on the banks of the Bantalidge River on the island of Vancouver.
By 2002, scientists began describing fossils, but then hesitated to declare a new sex due to lack of data. However, subsequent discoveries, including an excellent partial skeleton preserved for a young object, helped the team to make the bold decision to announce this new classification.
A skilled predator underwater
In 2023, it was officially announced that this Eslasmosaurus is the “symbolic excavation” of the British Columbia province, after a popular vote in which he received 48% of the votes. Today, it displays its structure at the Courtney Museum and the Center for Excavations.
“It is great for the northwestern Pacific Ocean to finally be a distinctive marine creeping of the Cretaceous period. This region, which is famous today for its marine wealth, was home to amazing and strange marine creatures in the era of dinosaurs.”
The study indicates that Traskasura was hunting from the top, as he managed to dive downward using his long neck and strong limbs to pounce on his prey, which he believed was ammones, which are marine creatures with spiral shells that were common in that deep era.
“The teeth of this being showed that they were strong enough to crush ammonia shells, which indicates a specialized predatory behavior that has evolved closely with other types in distant places, such as Antarctica,” says Okay.