In Depth
Described from a single partially preserved skull, Alexandronectes was an elasmosaurid plesiosaur that swam in the waters around what is now New Zealand during the late Cretaceous. These were dangerous waters as fossils of large mosasaurs such as Taniwhasaurus are also known from the same formation as Alexandronectes, and these predators were certainly capable of hunting and killing plesiosaurs.
Further Reading
- Alexandronectes zealandiensis gen. et sp. nov., a new aristonectine plesiosaur from the lower Maastrichtian of New Zealand. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 36(2):e1054494:1-14. - R. A. Otero, J. P. O’Gorman, N. Hiller, F. R. O’Keefe & R. E. Fordyce - 2016. – CT-scan description of Alexandronectes zealandiensis (Elasmosauridae, Aristonectinae), with comments on the elasmosaurid internal cranial features. – Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (2). – Jose P. O’Gorman, Rodrigo A. Otero, Norton Hiller, Robin F. O’Keefe, R. Paul Scofield, & Ewan Fordyce – 2021.
