Kronosaurus
| Kronosaurus Temporal range: 125–99 Ma Early Cretaceous |
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| K. boyacensis in Villa de Leyva, Boyaca, Colombia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Superorder: | Sauropterygia |
| Order: | Plesiosauria |
| Suborder: | Pliosauroidea |
| Family: | Pliosauridae |
| Genus: | Kronosaurus Longman, 1924[1] |
| Species | |
Kronosaurus (
/ˌkrɒnoʊˈsɔrəs/ KRON-o-SAWR-əs; meaning "lizard of Kronos") is an extinct genus of short-necked pliosaur. It was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Cronus.
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[edit] Discovery and species
Kronosaurus lived in the Early Cretaceous Period (Aptian-Albian).[2][3]
The holotype specimen of the species K. queenslandicus was described by Longman in 1924, and is currently in the Queensland Museum.[1] Hampe described a second species, K. boyacensis, in 1992 from Colombia.[2]
[edit] Palaeobiology
[edit] Size issues
Body-length estimates had previously put the total length of Kronosaurus at 12.8 meters (43 feet).[4] However, a recent study comparing fossil specimens of Kronosaurus to other pliosaurs suggests that the previous estimate was an exaggeration, with the true length probably being only 9–10 meters (30–33 feet).[3]
[edit] Teeth
The teeth of Kronosaurus are large in length (exceeding 7 cm - the largest up to 30 cm long with 12 cm crowns). However, they lack carinae (cutting edges) and the distinct trihedral (three facets) of Pliosaurus and Liopleurodon teeth. The combination of large size, conical shape and lack of cutting edges allows for easy identification of Kronosaurus teeth in Cretaceous deposits from Australia.[3][5]
[edit] Diet
Large, round bite-marks have been found on the skull of an Albian-age Australian elasmosaurid (Eromangasaurus) that could be from a Kronosaurus attack.[6][7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Longman HA. 1924. A new gigantic marine reptile from the Queensland Cretaceous, Kronosaurus queenslandicus new genus and species. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 8: 26–28.
- ^ a b c Hampe O. 1992. Ein großwüchsiger Pliosauride (Reptilia: Plesiosauria) aus der Unterkreide (oberes Aptium) von Kolumbien. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 145: 1-32.
- ^ a b c Kear BP. 2003. Cretaceous marine reptiles of Australia: a review of taxonomy and distribution. Cretaceous Research 24: 277–303.
- ^ Romer AS, Lewis AD. 1959. A mounted skeleton of the giant plesiosaur Kronosaurus. Breviora 112: 1-15.
- ^ Massare JA. 1997. Introduction - faunas, behaviour and evolution. In: Callaway JM, Nicholls EL. (Eds.), Ancient Marine Reptiles. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 401-421.
- ^ Sachs S. 2005. Tuarangisaurus australis sp. nov. (Plesiosauria: Elasmosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern Queensland, with additional notes on the phylogeny of the Elasmosauridae. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 50 (2): 425-440.
- ^ Kear, B. P. 2007. Taxonomic Clarification of the Australian Elasmosaurid Genus Eromangasaurus, with Reference to Other Austral Elasmosaur Taxa. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 27 (1): 241-246.
[edit] External links
- Genus Kronosaurus. The Plesiosaur Directory.
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