Kronosaurus
Kronosaurus is an extinct genus of large-bodied pliosaurid marine reptiles from the Early Cretaceous. Fossils are known from Australia and Colombia.
Pliosauridae: Pliosauridae is a family of extinct marine reptiles with large heads, short necks, and four powerful flippers. Kronosaurus belongs to this family of short-necked, large-headed plesiosaurs.
Kronosaurus queenslandicus: Kronosaurus queenslandicus is a species of Kronosaurus named from fossils discovered in Queensland, Australia. It is the best-known species and the source of the genus’s Australian reputation.
Pliosaur skull: A pliosaur skull is a large, elongated skull bearing strong jaws and conical teeth. Kronosaurus’s oversized skull housed the jaws central to its predatory role.
Heber Longman: Heber Longman was an Australian paleontologist and museum director who described Kronosaurus queenslandicus in 1924. Longman formally named the Australian species that established Kronosaurus.
Plesiosauria: Plesiosauria is an extinct order of marine reptiles with four flippers and bodies adapted for swimming. Pliosauridae, including Kronosaurus, is nested within this broader group.
Kronosaurus boyacensis: Kronosaurus boyacensis is a species named from a fossil skeleton found in Boyacá, Colombia. Its Colombian fossils extend the genus’s known record beyond Australia.
Plesiosaur flipper: A plesiosaur flipper is a flattened limb that produces thrust through underwater strokes. Kronosaurus relied on four flippers for aquatic propulsion.
University of Queensland expedition to Kronosaurus quarry: A 1930s University of Queensland expedition excavated a large Kronosaurus skeleton in Queensland. The expedition produced the famous mounted skeleton that shaped public ideas of the genus.
Cretaceous: The Cretaceous is the final period of the Mesozoic Era, lasting from about 145 to 66 million years ago. Kronosaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous.
Kronosaurus Korner: Kronosaurus Korner is a museum in Richmond, Queensland, dedicated to fossils from the region’s Cretaceous marine deposits. Its collections include major fossils associated with Kronosaurus and the inland sea that preserved them.