Conference to be held on Luxembourg’s Plesiosaurus

The National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) is organising a conference on Luxembourg’s plesiosaur fossil skeleton on Tuesday 23 January 2018 at 18:30.

Following the success of its presentation of a fossil plesiosaur in Luxembourg in November 2017, the MNHN has invited the Peggy Vincent, palaeontologist at the Parisian National Museum of Natural History to give the conference “Mélusine au musée. A plesiosaur in Luxembourg”. Mrs. Vincent was the expert who was able to describe and identify the fossil as a new species for science.

The plesiosaur, which is one of the most fascinating discoveries of recent decades and whose name is dedicated to the mythical Melusina, is considered a gateway to discovering the reptiles that reigned on the seabed of the Mesozoic. Since the first discoveries in the 17th century and the first works published about them nearly 200 years ago, a multitude of fossils of marine reptiles have been discovered all over the world, and every year new finds surprise scientist. Such clues contribute to a better understanding of the ecological and biological ‘strategies’ that have allowed reptiles to reign in the Mesozoic seas for more than 200 million years, before the most emblematic of them (plesiosaurs and mosasaurs) disappeared.

The conference, held in French, is open to the public free of charge and the MNHN will issue a certificate of participation for attendees.