Alexandronectes

Alexandronectes
Temporal range: Campanian, 72 Ma
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Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Superorder:†Sauropterygia
Order:†Plesiosauria
Family:†Elasmosauridae
Genus:†Alexandronectes
Otero et al., 2016
Species: †A. zealandiensis
Binomial name
Alexandronectes zealandiensis
Otero et al., 2016

Alexandronectes is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur, a type of long-necked marine reptile, that lived in the oceans of Late Cretaceous New Zealand. It contains one species, A. zealandiensis.[1] Fossils of Alexandronectes were found in the Conway Formation of Canterbury.[2]

Description

Alexandronectes belongs to the elasmosaurid subfamily Aristonectinae based on the pterygoid structure and an A-shaped squamosal arch. However, it differs from other aristonectines in its smaller skull, different paroccipital processes, and different mandibular glenoid.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Otero, Rodrigo A.; O'Gorman, José P.; Hiller, Norton; O'Keefe, F. Robin; Fordyce, R. Ewan (2016). "Alexandronectes zealandiensis gen. et sp. nov., a new aristonectine plesiosaur from the lower Maastrichtian of New Zealand". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 36 (2): e1054494. doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.1054494.
  2. ↑ Waipara River, M34/f1073 at Fossilworks.org
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