150-million-year old meat eating Plesiosaur discovered by Argentina scientists

New Delhi : Scientists from Argentina have discovered the remains of giant marine reptile Plesiosaur, who is believed to be living nearly 150 million years ago in the Antarctic.

The four-finned reptile is believed to be up to 12 meters (13 yards) long. It is the most ancient creature ever found on the continent.

Soledad Cavalli, a paleontologist at Argentina's National Scientific and Technical Research Council, said: "At this site, you can find a great diversity of fish, ammonites, some bivalves, but we did not expect to find such an ancient plesiosaur."

The "surprising" discovery has never been documented, according to a statement from the National University of La Matanza, near Buenos Aires.

"The discovery is pretty extraordinary, because the rock types at the site weren't thought conducive to the preservation of bones, like the vertebrae of this marine reptile," Cavalli said.

The remains have been discovered at a two-hour helicopter journey from Argentina's Marambio Base on the tip of Antarctica.

Marcelo Reguero of the Argentine Antarctic Institute (IAA) added that Antarctica was at the time part of the Gondwana continent, which also included Australia, New Zealand, India, Madagascar, Africa and South America, before continental drift pushed them apart.