Wapuskanectes
Wapuskanectes was an ancient marine reptile that swam in the seas of Alberta, Canada, about 112 million years ago. It was an early elasmosaur, a type of plesiosaur with a very long neck. This creature was a powerful swimmer and a meat-eater.1
When did it live?
How fast was it?
Fun facts
Wapuskanectes is the oldest known elasmosaur from North America, living about 112 million years ago.1
Its name comes from the Cree word 'Wapuska', meaning a body of water with whitecaps, and the Greek word 'nectes', meaning swimmer.1
The species name, betsynichollsae, honors Dr. Elizabeth 'Betsy' Nicholls, a famous curator of marine reptiles.1
Some Wapuskanectes fossils were found with gastroliths, or stomach stones, which may have helped them digest food.1
The gastroliths were mostly black, polished chert pebbles, and the largest one weighed 14.5 grams.1
One fossil, TMP 2012.50.1, was discovered when a grader plowed through its neck, destroying the skull and most of the neck.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Wapuskanectes
- Named by
- Druckenmiller and Russell 20062
- Group
- Plesiosaurs
- Family / clade
- Elasmosauridae2
- Classification
- Plesiosauria > Elasmosauridae > Sauropterygia2
- Age of the rocks
- 113 to 110 million years (Albian)2
- Rock formations
- Clearwater2
- Countries
- Canada2
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database2
- Discovery
- Wapuskanectes was named by Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Anthony P. Russell in 2006. The first fossil was found in an open-pit oilsand mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Wapuskanectes used its gastroliths, whether for grinding food or for ballast.1
Where the facts come from
- Wapuskanectes (en.wikipedia.org)
- Wapuskanectes in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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