Aiden Taylor, a 12-year-old boy from Bay Minette, Alabama, made a discovery of a lifetime when he found a rare fossil of a neck vertebra at the University of Alabama’s Museum Expedition.
Young Paleontologist’s Surprise Discovery of Neck Vertebra
While on the 37th Annual Museum Expedition camp hosted by the University of Alabama in the second week of June, Bay Minette middle school student Aiden Taylor uncovered a rare fossil from a large reptile over 80 million years old. The 12-year-old Alabamian reportedly found the fossil on the first day of the expedition.
The fossil was examined by the museum’s Curator of Paleontology, Dr. Dana Ehret. Dr. Ehret revealed the neck vertebra belonged to Elasmosaur, a large, long-necked marine creature.
The Many Vertebrae of the Long-necked Elasmosaur
During the late Cretaceous period, the massive Elasmosaur weighed nearly two tons and growing to be about 46 feet long. Elasmosaurs had the longest necks of all plesiosaurs. Had it been fully intact, Taylor’s find would have been one of between 32 and 76 neck vertebrae.
It also had paddled front and hind limbs. The huge leviathans used these massive paddled limbs to slowly power through the Western Interior Sea, which in that time extended all the way up through Alabama and much of the central states.
Elasmosaur Neck Vertebra is a Rare Find in Alabama
Alabama, having been covered by water in the late Cretaceous period, is abundant in marine fossils. However, what makes this particular find unique is that while mosasaurs are quite prevalent in the area, elasmosaurs were not as numerous. Researchers speculate that the mosasaurs, which were giant marine lizards related to modern snakes, out-competed the less agile elasmosaurs in the local area of what would be Alabama.
Interestingly enough, the vertebra belonged to the same specimen uncovered by another student, Noah Traylor, in the same area two years prior. Traylor, now 16 and working as a volunteer for the middle school expedition, was there to witness Taylor’s discovery.
Paleontologists at the University of Alabama are hopeful for more finds in the upcoming years in future expeditions. For now, the fossil has been sent to the school’s Paleontology Lab to be put on display.
