In Depth
Nakonanectes is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur that would have hunted in the Western interior seaway during the late Cretaceous period. Nakonanectes is noted for having short cervical vertebrae and an estimated length of only about five and a half meters at most for the holotype individual. This is small for an elasmosaurid plesiosaur, as most others of its kind were substantially longer.
Further Reading
- 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. - D. J. Serratos, P. Druckenmiller & R. B. J. Benson - 2017.
