The fossil of a previously unknown species of turtle that walked with dinosaurs has been discovered in Courtenay.
Timothy Gordon Obear discovered the turtle fossil a couple of years ago in Trent River, and according to Royal BC Museum palaeontology collections manager Derek Larson, research into the fossil has been in the works for some time.
“It’s been known about, and now we are finally taking steps now to get this published, and to give it a new name,” says Larson.
“It is a new species unknown to science.”
Larson adds that he and the museum are finding new species all of the time and they’re just beginning to scratch the surface.
When it comes to finding a name, the process takes time, according to Larson.
“The name has to be published in a scientific paper, and that paper has to go through the peer review process, just to make sure our science is sound,” Larson adds.
“In this particular case, this turtle is in a very hard rock, so it’s been very difficult to get it out to see all of the features, so it has taken an especially long-time to get to the public.”
Larson hopes that within the coming months this new species of turtle will have a new name.
