The Richmond Pliosaur

The complete, articulated (joined-together) skeleton of this animal (not a dinosaur) was found in 1990 near the town of Richmond, north-western Queensland. It is one of the best, most complete skeletons of its type in the world. The animal is as yet un-named, but scientists are currently working to fully understand and describe it. It belongs to the pliosauroid group, and was nearly 5m long. It is probably a member of the polycotylid family, a specialised pliosuaroid from the Early Cretaceous period. It had a relatively short neck, and a powerful set of flippers and a tail. It lived in the inland sea in Queensland 100 million years ago.