Fluvionectes

Fluvionectes (meaning "river swimmer", from both Latin and Greek) is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur found in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada. It is known from a holotype, which includes parts of the trunk area, and from a much larger specimen referred to this taxon.[1]

Fluvionectes
Temporal range: Campanian
~
Life restoration
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: †Sauropterygia
Order: †Plesiosauria
Family: †Elasmosauridae
Genus: †Fluvionectes
Campbell et al., 2021
Species:
†F. sloanae
Binomial name
†Fluvionectes sloanae
Campbell et al., 2021

Description

The holotype of Fluvionectes reached 5 m (16 ft) long and weighed 500 kg (1,100 lb). A much larger specimen indicates that this taxon may have reached 7 m (23 ft) in maximum body length.[1][2]

Classification

The describers placed Fluvionectes in the Elasmosauridae, in a clade with Albertonectes, Nakonanectes, Styxosaurus, and Terminonatator, which by definition places it in the Elasmosaurinae subfamily.[1]

Paleobiology

Fluvionectes appears to have been a freshwater (and possibly brackish water) animal based on its discovery from a non-marine to paralic sedimentary unit. This is significantly different in contrast to most elasmosaurs which were oceanic.[1]

References
  1. Campbell, Mitchel, Ryan and Anderson, James A., Mark T., Michael J., Jason S. (2021). "A new elasmosaurid (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) from the non-marine to paralic Dinosaur Park Formation of southern Alberta, Canada". PeerJ. 9: e10720. doi:10.7717/peerj.10720. PMC 7882142. PMID 33614274.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Paul, Gregory S. (2022). The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles. Princeton University Press. p. 114. ISBN 9780691193809.


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