Tuarangisaurus
| Tuarangisaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 78 Ma | |
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| Skeleton restoration | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Clade: | †Xenopsaria |
| Family: | †Elasmosauridae |
| Genus: | †Tuarangisaurus Wiffen & Moisley, 1986 |
| Species: | † T. keyesi |
| Binomial name | |
| Tuarangisaurus keyesi Wiffen & Moisley, 1986 | |
Tuarangisaurus (meaning in Maori tuarangi "ancient" + Gr. sauros "lizard") is an extinct genus of elasmosaurid known from New Zealand. Tuarangisaurus is known from the holotype NZGS CD425, a nearly complete skull and mandible and from NZGS CD426, nine anterior-most cervical vertebrae. Some postcranial remains of juveniles were also attributed to Tuarangisaurus. It was collected from the Tahora Formation, dating to the middle Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 78 million years ago. It was first named by Wiffen and Moisley in 1985. The type and only known species is Tuarangisaurus keyesi. The estimated length is about 8 meters.
See also
References
- Sachs, S. (2005). "Tuarangisaurus australis sp. nov. (Plesiosauria: Elasmosauridae) from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern Queensland, with additional notes on the phylogeny of the Elasmosauridae". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 50: 2, p 425-440 ISSN 0079-8835.
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Wikispecies has information related to: Tuarangisaurus |
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