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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The “sea monster” identified in British Columbia is Traskasaura sandrae, an extinct elasmosaurid plesiosaur—not a living creature or a scientific category of monster. Its formal description, published online in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology on May 22, 2025, gives a scientific name to fossil material from Vancouver Island and places the animal near the early branches of the elasmosaurid family tree.
What species was identified?
Traskasaura sandrae is a newly named genus and species of elasmosaurid plesiosaur, a marine reptile known from fossils. The dramatic “sea monster” wording is headline language; the scientific paper describes an extinct animal, not a newly discovered living species.
The fossils come from the Upper Santonian Haslam Formation, part of the Nanaimo Group on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The formal description appeared online in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology on May 22, 2025. The Courtenay and District Museum announced the scientific name the following day, May 23, 2025. Read the journal description or see the museum announcement.
Why does the name matter?
British Columbia had already declared the fossil its Provincial Fossil before the animal received a formal scientific name. The journal paper notes that provincial designation; the museum identifies the newly named animal as Traskasaura sandrae. The 2025 description turns fossil material previously recognized as an elasmosaurid into a formally named genus and species, supported by additional specimens recovered after the first Haslam elasmosaurid skeleton was described in 2002.
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What did the fossils reveal about its anatomy?
The description is based on an isolated right humerus and a well-preserved, osteologically immature skeleton that includes parts of the thorax, shoulder and pelvic girdles, and limbs. The animal shows a mix of traits: some retained ancestral features and others that distinguish it from related plesiosaurs.
- Skull and teeth: The study describes a relatively narrow lower jaw with large teeth and a broad symphysis—the joined front portion of the two sides of the jaw.
- Neck: At least 36 cervical vertebrae are preserved, and the cervical ribs trend forward. That count refers to preserved bones in the described material, not necessarily a complete count for the animal’s entire neck.
- Shoulder and forelimb: The coracoid, a shoulder-girdle bone, and the humerus, the upper bone of the front flipper, have distinctive anatomy noted by the authors.
Because the described skeleton is immature, the fossils do not provide a complete adult specimen. The anatomical case for the new species rests on the combination of features documented in the recovered material.
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Where does it fit in plesiosaur evolution?
O’Keefe and colleagues’ revised phylogenetic analysis places Traskasaura basally within Elasmosauridae—that is, near the earlier-diverging branches of that family, rather than among its more derived members. “Basal” describes a position on an evolutionary tree; it does not mean the animal was an ancestor of every later elasmosaurid.
The authors also note postcranial similarities with more derived aristonectines, another group of elasmosaurids. Their interpretation is that those similarities evolved independently through convergence, rather than showing that Traskasaura belonged to that more derived lineage. Similar-looking bones can reflect similar adaptations, not necessarily close evolutionary relationships.
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What is known about the fossil’s discovery?
The formal description draws on additional Haslam Formation fossils recovered after the first elasmosaurid skeleton from the formation was described in 2002. The journal account identifies the material used to establish the new taxon, while the Courtenay and District Museum provides regional context and information about its paleontology programming. The fossils document an extinct marine reptile; they are not evidence of a surviving sea creature.
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