Spitrasaurus Explained

Spitrasaurus is an extinct genus of cryptoclidid^[1] plesiosauroid plesiosaur known from the uppermost Jurassic of central Spitsbergen, Norway^[2] and likely also Kimmeridge, England.^[3] It is named after a syllabic abbreviation for Spitsbergen Travel.

The holotype of S. wensaasi is PMO 219 718 and consists of sixty articulated cervical vertebrae and skull material from a juvenile, and the holotype of S. larseni is SVB 1450 and also consists of cervical vertebrae.

A cervical vertebra, MANCH LI 5519c, was found in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in England and was tentatively assigned to cf. Spitrasaurus in 2014 after being compared to Colymbosaurus megadeirus, while more possible Spitrasaurus vertebrae found at Kimmeridge reside within the collection of Steve Etches.

See also

• List of plesiosaur genera
• Timeline of plesiosaur research

Notes and References

1. Benson . R. B. J. . Druckenmiller . P. S. . 10.1111/brv.12038 . Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition . Biological Reviews . 1–23. 2013 . 23581455. 89. 1 . 19710180 .
2. Espen M. Knutsen . Patrick S. Druckenmiller . Jørn H. Hurum . 2012 . Two new species of long-necked plesiosaurians (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Upper Jurassic (Middle Volgian) Agardhfjellet Formation of central Spitsbergen . Norwegian Journal of Geology . 92 . 2–3 . 187–212 . 0029-196X . Low resolusion pdf High resolusion pdf
3. Benson . Roger B. J. . Bowdler . Timothy . 2014-07-29 . Anatomy of Colymbosaurus megadeirus (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of the U.K., and high diversity among Late Jurassic plesiosauroids . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 34 . 5 . 1053–1071 . 10.1080/02724634.2014.850087 . 85066808 . 0272-4634.