Fossils 'from ancestor of Nessie' sold for £35,000

Published on Tuesday 13 December 2005 00:51

A FOSSILISED skeleton of a dinosaur claimed by some to be an ancestor of the Loch Ness monster was sold at auction for more than £35,000 yesterday.

The skeleton of a plesiosaur, which scientists say lived some 205 million years ago, was the first sold on the open market anywhere.

Plesiosaurs, which were marine reptiles, inhabited the oceans from 230 to 65 million years ago when dinosaurs dominated the Earth.

They had long necks, small heads, sharp teeth and a round body. The creatures thrust themselves through the water with their four flippers and steered with their tail.

The appearance tallies with some descriptions of the monster said to inhabit Loch Ness and has become the most popular attribution for alleged sightings the mythical beast.

Mikko Takala, a Loch Ness researcher who runs a prominent website about the monster, claimed to have captured Nessie on camera in July this year.

"The creature was estimated to be about three and a half meters long and was about 50 metres offshore. No photo trickery has been used, although some other, sadly envious, 'researchers' are already making such unfounded and spiteful allegations," he said.

"It has not been scientifically proven that a herd of plesiosaurs does not live in Loch Ness and many people have seen things with their own eyes."

The fossil of the auctioned plesiosaur, which means "near reptile", was 70 per cent complete, a rarity which was reflected in the price paid, which included the buyer's premium.

The rear, left-hand side of the upper skull and lower jaw is complete, which is extremely rare as the skulls are usually largely missing due to their fragility and position at the end of an extremely long neck.

Bloomsbury Auctions, which carried out the transaction in London, was unable to disclose who had bought the 10ft long specimen, which formed part of a sale of rare and decorative fossils, rocks, minerals and meteorites.

The plesiosaur, from the Lower Jurassic period, was unearthed in Lyme Regis in Dorset about 20 years ago and has come from a private collection.

The first well-preserved plesiosaur fossil was also discovered in Dorset in 1824 by collector Mary Anning.