Dave the Plesiosaur Back to Marine Reptiles. 'Dave' is the name given to one of Australia's most exciting fossil animal finds of the decade. In late 1999, Queensland Museum scientists excavated about 80% of a fossilised plesiosaur from a site in North Queensland. Now they are returning to hunt for the rest of Dave on an expedition that began in June 2001. What is Dave? Dave was a type of plesiosaur known as an elasmosaurid. These large marine reptiles had four flippers and resembled a seal with a very long neck. Elasmosaurs ate fish and squid.

Dave lived and died about 110 million-years-ago.

The dig site with scaffolding supplied by the ABC science show, Quantum.

Where was Dave found?
Dave was encased in sandstone near the bottom of a river bed in North Queensland. The exact location is kept secret to protect the site from unwanted attention. It is a very lonely, remote place, about 40 minutes from the nearest homestead, and 2 hours from the nearest small town. It is even difficult to get AM radio signals there.

How was Dave found?
Two fishermen, one of whom is also a keen 'rock-hound' and fossil collector, found parts of Dave exposed on the surface. They contacted Dr Alex Cook at the Queensland Museum who quickly organised a recovery team.

What was found?
About 80% of Dave’s skeleton was recovered, comprising most of the long neck, the shoulders, torso, hips and parts of the paddles. The original bone was encased in hard, green sandstone. Scientists used hand tools, working 18 hours a day for 7 days to get it out of the ground before the rainy season set in. Unfortunately, Dave’s skull was not found, and museum scientists need to go back and dig deeper into the rock with power tools. Dave was excavated by a team from the Queensland Museum with the assistance of staff from the Age of Fishes Museum at Canowindra.

How old is Dave ?
The sedimentary rocks in which Dave was found contain fossils that are known to be 110 million-years-old. At this time, in the early Cretaceous period, a shallow sea inundated much of North and Central Queensland. The area covered by this sea now forms the Great Artesian Basin.

Why is Dave important?
Dave is the most complete elasmosaurid skeleton found in Australia and one of the few early true elasmosaurs known worldwide. The skeleton will provide insights into the development of this group. Dave is also an important addition to the rich fossil history of Queensland and Australia and adds to our knowledge of the history of the Great Artesian Basin.

What will happen to Dave?

We want to Save Dave!

With public and corporate support, Dave will be released from the rock. This is a slow, painstaking process. With additional support we hope to tour Dave around the country. We also want to go back and hunt for Dave’s skull.

Why 'Dave'?
The name of the fossil collector who found this important specimen is David.

News of the fossil find was broken by ABC's Quantum science program.

Dave's ribs. Most of these ribs are in association with others within the body and are therefore as they were when Dave died.

Dave's Chest. This is a photo of Dave's pectoral girdle which held the muscles for the giant flippers at the front of Dave's body.

  Dig Map