In Depth
The original 2012 paper of the plesiosaur Spitrasaurus included the description of not one but two species for the genus. The type species, S. wensaasi (PMO 219 718) is described from sixty articulated cervical vertebrae believed to have come from a juvenile individual. S. larseni (SVB 1450) is also known from cervical vertebrae, though not as well preserved as those of the type species, though S. larseni also has partial skull remains attributed to it.
The genus name Spitrasaurus means ‘Spitra lizard’ and is based upon a portmanteau formed from Spitsbergen Travel.
Further Reading
- Two new species of long-necked plesiosaurians (Reptilia: Sauropterygia) from the Upper Jurassic (Middle Volgian) Agardhfjellet Formation of central Spitsbergen - Espen M. Knutsen, Patrick S. Druckenmiller & J�rn H. Hurum - 2012. - Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition - Espen M. Knutsen & Patrick S. Druckenmiller - 2013.
