The Comox Valley elasmosaur is BC’s official fossil, and soon it will have its own unique scientific name.
The elasmosaur, an 80-million-year-old sea monster, was discovered in the Puntledge River 37 years ago by Mike Trask and his daughter Heather. It was the first of its kind found west of the Canadian Rockies. In 2020, Pat Trask found another one in the same area.
The creature lived in a time when most of British Columbia was underwater during the Cretaceous Period, and was a type of plesiosaur. It was a long-necked creature with a small head and sharp teeth, and paddle-like fins.
In the last decade researchers have discovered a wide variety among elasmosaur species, and a new paper currently under peer review shows the Comox Valley creature is considered a completely new genus and species. Once the paper is published, its new name will be revealed.
The paper is by Dr. Frank Robin O’Keefe from Marshall University in West Virginia, with help from his colleagues. O’Keefe has published several papers about
In the meantime, dinosaur fans can enjoy the permanent display at the Courtenay Museum and Paleontology Centre.
