Robin O'Keefe, a professor at Marshall University, recently helped discover that plesiosaurs, water reptiles that roamed the earth millions of years ago, gave live birth, as opposed to hatching eggs. Scientists had debated the reproduction issue prior to his work on a fossil containing a fetus. The specimen now resides at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles.
Robin O'Keefe teaches human anatomy at Marshall University. But in his spare time, he's making scientific history.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Robin O'Keefe teaches human anatomy at Marshall University. But in his spare time, he's making scientific history.
O'Keefe, 42, recently helped determine that a 78-million-year-old fossil of a plesiosaur, a large four-flippered water reptile, contained an embryonic skeleton -- providing the first evidence that the creatures gave birth to live young, instead of hatching offspring from eggs.
The paleontologist traveled to Los Angeles Thursday to help unveil the findings at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The research by O'Keefe and the museum's Luis Chiappe is being published today<co fri> in Science, one of the world's most cited scientific journals.
"This changes what people thought. Our biggest problem was that we had no information -- just a giant question mark," O'Keefe said Thursday via telephone from Los Angeles. "There was speculation about whether they laid eggs or gave birth, but no evidence. There wasn't much you could say with confidence.
"This is an exciting day."
O'Keefe has traveled the globe researching the extinct creature, which was commonly found in the world's oceans during the age of dinosaurs.
He said the discovery gives scientists a closer look into the unknown reproduction process and social characteristics of the sea creatures from the Mesozoic Era, which lasted from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago.
The fossil reveals that plesiosaurs are one of the few aquatic reptiles to give birth to a single, large offspring. That suggests that the creatures may have engaged in parental care, making them similar to dolphins, O'Keefe said.
"What we found does strongly indicate that the animals did not lay eggs, and that's a big deal, but it's not unprecedented for marine reptiles to give live birth," he said. "What really makes this discovery special is that its reproduction process was much different than other marine reptiles."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Robin O'Keefe teaches human anatomy at Marshall University. But in his spare time, he's making scientific history.
O'Keefe, 42, recently helped determine that a 78-million-year-old fossil of a plesiosaur, a large four-flippered water reptile, contained an embryonic skeleton -- providing the first evidence that the creatures gave birth to live young, instead of hatching offspring from eggs.
The paleontologist traveled to Los Angeles Thursday to help unveil the findings at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The research by O'Keefe and the museum's Luis Chiappe is being published today<co fri> in Science, one of the world's most cited scientific journals.
"This changes what people thought. Our biggest problem was that we had no information -- just a giant question mark," O'Keefe said Thursday via telephone from Los Angeles. "There was speculation about whether they laid eggs or gave birth, but no evidence. There wasn't much you could say with confidence.
"This is an exciting day."
O'Keefe has traveled the globe researching the extinct creature, which was commonly found in the world's oceans during the age of dinosaurs.
He said the discovery gives scientists a closer look into the unknown reproduction process and social characteristics of the sea creatures from the Mesozoic Era, which lasted from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago.
The fossil reveals that plesiosaurs are one of the few aquatic reptiles to give birth to a single, large offspring. That suggests that the creatures may have engaged in parental care, making them similar to dolphins, O'Keefe said.
"What we found does strongly indicate that the animals did not lay eggs, and that's a big deal, but it's not unprecedented for marine reptiles to give live birth," he said. "What really makes this discovery special is that its reproduction process was much different than other marine reptiles."
The fossilized fetus was found inside its 15.4-foot long mother, and contained a developing body with ribs, 20 vertebrae, shoulders, hips and paddle bones.
O'Keefe said he's grateful to be a part of the discovery, because balancing family life and his job as a professor has cut back on his time for research.
"I never have enough time to go out and find fossils. I love my job. But, the responsibilities keep me out of a tent in the middle of a desert. Let's face it; if you go into paleontology, you love to look at fossils. And, this is a beautiful rock," O'Keefe said.
He said he loves to see students surprised when they find out that his hobbies are a bit unconventional.
"Most students don't know what I do for my research. Every semester I get a few who find out and say, 'Wow, I didn't know you worked on dinosaurs,' and I'll bring a few bones into the lab to share with them," O'Keefe said. "That's really great."
O'Keefe is grateful for getting the opportunity to work on the fossil, which was found by Charles Bonner of Logan County, Kan., in 1987. But he also appreciates what the positive attention can do for his university.
"I feel very fortunate to be involved in such a beautiful discovery. It's a culmination of things; on an emotional level, it's really fun. And, on a professional level, it's a prestigious honor," he said. "It's good exposure for Marshall and for the state. Now people who have heard of it because of the movie know that research and science is happening there, too."
Reach Mackenzie Mays at mackenzie.m...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5100.
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