Scientists from several Russian universities and institutes conducted research and found interesting facts about the climate and wildlife in Northern Siberia 100 million years ago. Then they learned that the temperature of the water in the sea is almost the same as in the Mediterranean in our time. Thanks to this, heat-loving reptiles, including dinosaurs and turtles, lived in the sea.
In the past two years, researchers have found the remains of plesiosaurs, mosasaurs and turtles in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Isotope analysis showed that 100 million years ago, the water temperature in the region was much higher, around 14-16 degrees Celsius. Interestingly, the turtle, although terrestrial, has been found in marine sediments. This suggests that the climate during the Late Cretaceous was quite warm, perhaps even warmer than it is now.
Most of the bones found belonged to plesiosaurs, huge reptiles up to 20 meters long that used four flippers to swim, unlike modern reptiles. This is a rare find for paleontologists, as the Mesozoic deposits in Western Siberia are mostly hidden under younger rocks. Natural outcrops of the Upper Cretaceous are found only in a few places in northern Siberia.
Source: Ferra
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