Syncrude marks 25 years of fossil finds in Fort McMurray oilsands mines

Greg Fisher was working the night shift as ahydraulic shovel operatorin a Syncrude mine when under the beamof hismachine's bright lights he saw one of the rarest dinosaur fossils ever discovered in North America.

"You can see the segments in it. So you knew it was bone," Fisher said Wednesday. "I called the supervisor and let him know what I was seeing."

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It was a plesiosaur;a carnivorous marine reptile that lived 110 million years ago.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum later confirmed that Fisher had discoveredthe oldest and most complete cretaceous plesiosaur specimen ever found in North America.

The find was made 38 metres underground in 1994, Fisher said.

Syncrudediscovered its first fossil on April 1, 1992 and hascounted 10suchfinds in the 25yearssince. The Athabasca oilsands area was an interior sea more than100 million years ago.

Fisher spoke Wednesday at a media event to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1992 find.

GregFuhr, Syncrude'svice president of mining and extraction, said prehistoric rivers deposited dead animals and plants in the area, which decomposed andformed the oilsands.

"So, within that, obviously there's a rich history of fossils and a history to tell us about the dinosaurs," Fuhr said.

"They are not as easy to find as some people think," Fisher said. "It's quite rare and you need the perfect environment to preserve these things properly."

A replica of Fisher'splesiosauris on display at Fort McMurray'sOil Sands Discovery Centre.

The real fossilwill be on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum's"Grounds for Discovery" exhibitopening in May.

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