The
holotype specimen,
UNSM 50134, was discovered by Joe Purzer, an oil field geologist, in 1931 near the town of
Holyrood, Kansas. He notified
George F. Sternberg and
Myrl Vincent Walker, and the excavation of the specimen commenced later in the year. It was collected over a period of ten days in October 1931. The specimen became known as the 'Holyrood elasmosaur' and was eventually sold to the
University of Nebraska State Museum in 1935, where it was prepared and placed into storage. Everhart (2007) noted that Harold Ehler used photographs of the holotype to identify the type locality, but no further remains of
Plesioelasmosaurus resulted from Ehler's discovery. The holotype consists of both
ilia, partial hind
paddles, a nearly complete fore paddle, vertebrae from all sections of the vertebral column (
cervical, 'pectoral',
dorsal,
sacral, and
caudal),
ribs and
gastralia, two teeth, and more than two hundred
gastroliths, all from a single individual. One of these front paddles is still on display at the UNSM today. In 2022,
Plesioelasmosaurus walkeri was
described as a new genus and species of elasmosaurid plesiosaur by Schumacher & Everhart based on these remains.The
generic name, "
Plesioelasmosaurus", is derived from the
Greek words "plesios", meaning "near to", "elasmos" meaning "metal plate", and "sauros", meaning "lizard". The
specific name, "
walkeri", honors paleontologist Myrl Walker, one of the collectors of the holotype. == Description ==