Genus
Valid Extinct

Nakonanectes

Serratos et al. 2017

Nakonanectes bradti is an elasmosaurid plesiosaur of the late Cretaceous found in 2010 the state of Montana in the United States. It is one of the most recently known elasmosaurids to have lived in North America. Unlike other elasmosaurids, it has a relatively short neck.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Sauroptérygiens
Carnivore aquatic, depth=surface Marine
Nakonanectes
click to enlarge
The Holotype of Nakonanectes, MOR 3072, from the Bearpaw Shale © Montanoceratops · CC0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Sauropterygia Suborder
›
Plesiosauria Order
›
Plesiosauroidea Superfamily
›
Elasmosauridae Family
›
Euelasmosaurida Unranked clade
›
Elasmosaurinae Unranked clade
›
Nakonanectes Genus
Measurements
Length
5,6 m ⓘ
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇺🇸 United States
1
Geological formations
Bearpaw Shale
1
Temporal distribution
Maastrichtian (72.2–66 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Nakonanectes bradti 72 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
D. J. Serratos, P. Druckenmiller, and R. B. J. Benson. 2017. A new elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Bearpaw Shale (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of Montana demonstrates multiple evolutionary reductions of neck length within Elasmosauridae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 37(2):e1278608 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
D. J. Serratos, P. Druckenmiller, and R. B. J. Benson. 2017. A new elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia, Plesiosauria) from the Bearpaw Shale (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of Montana demonstrates multiple evolutionary reductions of neck length within Elasmosauridae. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 37(2):e1278608 DOI ↗