Dino card No. 0940 of 2,027

Kaiwhekea

Say it: kye-WHEK-ee-uh

Name means: “kai whekea means 'squid eater' in Maori”1

Ate: MeatPlesiosaursLate CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Kaiwhekea was a plesiosaur, a long-necked marine reptile that lived in the seas around New Zealand. It had a big head, large eyes and lots of small teeth for catching squid and other soft prey. This creature swam near the Antarctic polar circle during the time of the dinosaurs.1

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

84 to 66 million years ago6

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Katiki Formation near Shag Point, Otago, South Island, New Zealand1

Food

Meat2 1

Length

6.5 to 7 m3 1

estimates vary

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 4 bicycles in a rowas long as 39 bananas end to end

How big was Kaiwhekea compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Kaiwhekea is one of the most complete fossil reptiles ever found in New Zealand, with its skull, jaws, vertebrae and ribs still connected almost as they were in life.1

Its name comes from Maori words meaning 'squid eater', because scientists think it fed on squid and other soft animals.1

Kaiwhekea had about 43 teeth in each upper jaw and 42 in each lower jaw, all small, slim and slightly curved.3

The fossil was found inside a large rock called a concretion, which was cracked and had to be dug out bit by bit over 30 days.1

When Kaiwhekea lived, the Otago region was close to the polar circle, with long summer days and long winter nights.1

Its large forward-facing eyes suggest it had good binocular vision, which might have helped it hunt in deep or dark water.1

Kaiwhekea is thought to have been a fast swimmer, based on the shape of its hind flippers.1

AI-made picture of Kaiwhekea — An AI-made picture of how Kaiwhekea might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Kaiwhekea

?How big was Kaiwhekea?

Kaiwhekea was about 6.5 to 7 metres long.4 5

?What did Kaiwhekea eat?

Kaiwhekea ate squid and other soft-bodied prey. Its name means 'squid eater' in Māori.4 5

?When did Kaiwhekea live?

Kaiwhekea lived about 70 to 69 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.4 5

?Is Kaiwhekea a dinosaur?

No, Kaiwhekea is a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea at the same time as dinosaurs.4 5

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Kaiwhekea
Named by: Cruickshank and Fordyce 20026
Group: Plesiosaurs
Family / clade: Elasmosauridae6
Classification: Plesiosauria > Elasmosauridae > Sauropterygia6
Age of the rocks: 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)6
Rock formations: Katiki6
Countries: New Zealand6
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database6
Discovery: Kaiwhekea was named by Arthur Cruickshank and Ewan Fordyce in 2002, based on a single nearly complete skeleton found in the Katiki Formation near Shag Point, New Zealand.2 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure which family Kaiwhekea belongs to. Some say it is a cryptoclidid, others place it with elasmosaurids or other groups.2 1

Where the facts come from

Kaiwhekea katiki, a Late Cretaceous plesiosaur from high southern latitudes (otago.ac.nz)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
A New Marine Reptile (Sauropterygia) from New Zealand: Further Evidence for A Late Cretaceous Austral Radiation of Cryptoclidid Plesiosaurs (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Kaiwhekea (en.wikipedia.org)
Most complete dinosaur-aged reptile from Aotearoa – Fossil Treasures of the Geology Museum (oercollective.caul.edu.au)
Kaiwhekea in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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