Two individuals of Traskasaura sandrae hunt the ammonite Pachydiscus in the northern Pacific during the Late Cretaceous. Credit: Robert O. Clark.
It’s official! At long last, what was known as the Puntledge River elasmosaur now has its own scientific name: Traskasaura sandrae, named in its scientific paper published on May 23, 2025 in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, by Dr. F. Robin O’Keefe.
This monumental achievement for the museum and the scientific community was made possible following years of research and decades of building and promoting by museum board and staff, paleontologists, citizen scientists, volunteers, fellow national and international museums, successive MLA’s Stan Hagen, Don McRae, Evelyn Gillespie and Ronna-Rae Leonard, the City of Courtenay, Comox Valley Regional District, and thousands of visitors each year.
Click Here to read the full press release, and Click Here to read the scientific paper.
