Brachauchenius

Brachauchenius had a skull that was about 90 centimeters (35 inches) long, which is almost as long as a grown-up person's arm.1

Its name means 'short neck' because it had a much shorter neck than most other plesiosaurs, which usually had long, swan-like necks.1

The first fossil was found in 1884 in a quarry in Kansas, USA, and it was later named Brachauchenius lucasi in 1903.1

Brachauchenius lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 100 to 90 million years ago, when the middle of North America was covered by a shallow sea.13

Some fossils that were once thought to be Brachauchenius turned out to belong to other animals, like Megacephalosaurus, which had a similar skull.1

Brachauchenius had two pairs of large flippers and a short tail, which helped it swim through the water like a sea lion.1