An 80-million-year-old fossil has been found in New Zealand. This is a vertebra of the Elasmosaurus dinosaur.
In New Zealand, what looked like a common pebble revealed a real surprise inside: a rare 80 million-year-old fossil.
The exceptional discovery, disseminated by Newsflare, was made by the New Zealand Youtuber Mamlambo Fossils. It is one of over 70 vertebrae that made up the neck of an Elasmosaurus of the plesiosaur family, an ancient marine reptile with an incredibly similar appearance to the legendary Loch Ness Monster.
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Mamlambo documented the entire process of extracting the fossil from the stone, creating a timelapse that captures every single step of the operation.
© Newsflare
The bone was almost completely hidden within a rock. The process to remove it took the use of acetic acid and three weeks of time. After this step, the fossil was immersed for one hour in vinegar and twelve hours in fresh water. After applying a layer of Paraloid B-72, a type of material that protects the bone surface, the man used a pneumatic air incision pen, in order to remove rock up to 1mm from the bone.
The fossil hunter then decided to donate the "treasure" to a local museum.
Photos: Newsflare
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