Genus
Valid Extinct

Albertonectes

Kubo et al. 2012

Albertonectes is an extinct genus of large plesiosaurs that lived in North America during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period, at around 73.5 million years ago. The only known species is A. vanderveldei, described in 2012 from an almost complete postcranial skeleton discovered in 2007 near Lethbridge, in the province of Alberta, Canada. Although currently only documented from the holotype, a possible second specimen was discovered in 2015 in the same locality.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Sauroptérygiens
Carnivore aquatic, depth=surface Marine
Albertonectes
click to enlarge
(A) View of the original downside in the field and the best preserved side as it experienced the least disruption by scavenging sharks. (B) Detail of midbody region showing the large gastroliths that settled downwards onto the inside of the right, dorsal ribs. This region was hit by the excavator bucket with the partial loss of ribs and an unknown number of gastroliths. Fortuitously, the broken blocks hosting gastroliths can be removed and their contents inspected from several sides. Scalebar is 10 cm. Source credit: Sue Sabrowski, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology. © Donald M. Henderson, Sue Sabrowski · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia
Albertonectes
Albertonectes
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Sauropterygia Suborder
›
Plesiosauria Order
›
Plesiosauroidea Superfamily
›
Elasmosauridae Family
›
Euelasmosaurida Unranked clade
›
Elasmosaurinae Unranked clade
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Albertonectes Genus
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇦 Canada
1
Geological formations
Bearpaw Shale
1
Temporal distribution
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Albertonectes vanderveldei 84 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
T. Kubo, M. T. Mitchell, and D. M. Henderson. 2012. Albertonectes vanderveldei, a new elasmosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32(3):557-572 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
T. Kubo, M. T. Mitchell, and D. M. Henderson. 2012. Albertonectes vanderveldei, a new elasmosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Alberta. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32(3):557-572 DOI ↗