Gigantic, extinct sea cow fossils found on Russian Island

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Gigantic, extinct sea cow fossils found on Russian Island
Gigantic, extinct sea cow fossils found on Russian Island

New Delhi : The gigantic skeleton of an extinct sea cow has been recovered from Russia's far eastern coastline, the Russian nature ministry announced Friday.

The 5.2 meter long fossil, however, is missing its skull and a few other bones. It is believed to be of a Steller's sea cow, a species that vanished from Earth in the late 18th century.

At first glance it appeared to be a "fence" of bones sticking up through the sand of the beach, but on a close analysis, the local officials found it to be a fossil.

It took officials four hours of dig to finally unearth the skeleton from the beach. It included 27 ribs, 45 vertebrae, a left scapula and other bones.

The nature reserve where the skeleton was found posted pictures on its website and said the skeleton will be on display at its visitor center.

Before this, the remains of sea cows were found way back in 1987 on the same island.

Steller's sea cows lived during the Pleistocene epoch, between 11,700 to 2.6 million years ago. Their large mass—up to 10 metric tons—allowed the mammals to survive in arctic conditions.