Albertonectes

Name: Albertonectes ‭(‬Alberta swimmer‭)‬.
Phonetic: Al-ber-to-nek-teez.
Named By: Tai Kubo,‭ ‬Mark T.‭ ‬Mitchell‭ & ‬Donald M.‭ ‬Henderson‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Plesiosauria,‭ ‬Elasmosauridae.
Species: A.‭ ‬vanderveldei‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore.
Size: Roughly estimated about‭ ‬11.5‭ long.
Known locations: Canada,‭ ‬Alberta‭ ‬-‭ ‬Bearpaw Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost complete post cranial skeleton.




       Albertonectes is one of the best preserved elasmosaurid plesiosaurs to be discovered in Canada,‭ ‬and has a total of‭ ‬76‭ ‬cervical‭ (‬neck‭) ‬vertebrae‭ ‬.‭ ‬Elasmosaurid pesiosaurs like Albertonectes are noted for having their long necks that are proportionately much longer than earlier plesiosaur types.‭ ‬This would have been a specialist feeding adaptation allowing for a longer reach when feeding upon fish.
       The holotype specimen of Albertonectes shows signs of being scavenged,‭ ‬as evidenced by a tooth marked coracoid as well as two shed teeth believed to have come from the Sqaulicorax shark genus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Albertonectes vanderveldei,‭ ‬a new elasmosaur‭ (‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia‭) ‬from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta,‭ ‬Tai Kubo,‭ ‬Mark T.‭ ‬Mitchell‭ & ‬Donald M.‭ ‬Henderson‭ ‬-‭ ‬2012.





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