Ghedoghedo (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pliosaurus_rossicus_skull_2.JPG) CC-by-sa-4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
Russian scientists working in the Volga River in 2002 unearthed an enormous fossilized marine creature, which has now been identified as a new species. Luskhan itilensis, which means “Master Spirit of the Volga,” had a skull approximately 5-7 feet long, and lived roughly 130 million years ago. The fossil is that of a type of plesiosaur, but it combines features that had been previously unseen in that type of marine creature. If you want to read more about this fascinating critter, there’s a Newsweek article on the topic that summarizes the scholarly paper in Current Biology.
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