Kronosaurus queenslandicus

Fig. 1.- Reconstruction of Kronosaurus queenslandicus chasing a plesiosaur.

The most famous of the pliosaurs before WWD eclipsed it with an oversized Liopleurodon. This large (9-10 meters)  marine reptile lived in the open oceans of Australia during the Aptian-Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous and was hunting large preys such as the long-necked plesiosaurs. It is known from at least three individuals, one being the iconic Harvard skeleton which was reconstructed with too many dorsal vertebrae making Kronosaurus a bit longer than it really was. A second species, named Kronosaurus boyacensis was found in Northern Colombia.

Original artworks on Paleoexhibit are copyrighted to Nobu Tamura. Do not use without permission (Email: nobu dot tamura at yahoo dot com)

References:

Hampe O. 1992. Ein großwüchsiger Pliosauride (Reptilia: Plesiosauria) aus der Unterkreide (oberes Aptium) von Kolumbien. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 145: 1-32.

Longman H. A. 1924. A new gigantic marine reptile from the Queensland Cretaceous, Kronosaurus queenslandicus new genus and species. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 8: 26–28.