Heavy equipment operator Maggy Horvath stopped digging as soon as she saw something tan-coloured in the rock. Her oil company, Syncrude requires operators to call a geologist immediately if they think they’ve found a fossil. And that’s just what Horvath did on November 14th at the oil sands mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta.

After confirming it was a fossil the geologist called for help from the Royal Tyrrell Museum which specializes in palaeontology.

“It’s a type of marine reptile that lived at the same time as the dinosaurs. It’s from 110-115 million years ago,” said Donald Henderson, curator of dinosaurs at the museum.  “They’re actually quite rare so it’s quite a big deal when we do find one.”

Once separated from the stone, the bones will probably measure between three and four meters, half of that length being the neck. Henderson thinks the creature may be a plesiosaur which hunted fish and small crustaceans in the prehistoric sea that used to cover much of western North America. 

“Someone in the 19th century described them as a snake threaded through a turtle,” said Henderson. “They’ve got quite a broad body. They’ve got four flippers instead of arms and legs. The neck is as long as the body. Then they have a small head on the end of that.”

Alberta is rich in fossils. Dinosaur Provincial Park east of Calgary is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that features the remains of over forty species of dinosaur. There are signs flying reptiles bigger than small airplanes used to patrol the area.

Archaeologists find fossils in the park but oil sands development is digging up remains in remote locations that otherwise might not be found. This fossil is the tenth found by on Syncrude leases alone.
The fossil is now in two huge blocks of stone.

“We got it out the help of the miners and some giant machines,” said Henderson. “We lifted out a six-ton block and a two-ton block. They’re now sitting in the mine out of everybody’s way.”

When the weather improves in April or May technicians will go back, remove most of the rock, carefully wrap the remains in burlap and get it ready for the 770-kilometer drive to the museum.

It will be difficult to remove the bones from the rock because they are soft and have not mineralized. But Henderson says the Tyrrell Museum has some of the best experts in the world to do the job.

It will take some time though because there have been so many fossil finds.  This fossil will probably be ready for display in 2013 or 2014. The museum is hoping to mount a display exclusively of marine reptiles that used to wander the region.

Maggy Horvath plans to keep her eyes peeled for more fossils.

“I think it’s great that I’m part of this. It felt pretty good to call my son and let him know that I found a prehistoric fossil while working in the mine.”

Web links: Royal Tyrrell Museum, Alberta http://www.tyrrellmuseum.com/media_centre.htm
Syncrude news release: Syncrude operator unearths rare fossil: http://www.syncrude.ca/users/news_view.asp?FolderID=5690&NewsID=210