Acostasaurus

Acostasaurus
Temporal range: Barremian
~130–120 Ma
Cranial reconstruction of Acostasaurus pavachoquensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Sauropterygia
Order: Plesiosauria
Family: Pliosauridae
Genus: Acostasaurus
Species:
A. pavachoquensis
Binomial name
Acostasaurus pavachoquensis
Gómez Pérez & Noè, 2017

Acostasaurus (meaning "Acosta's lizard") is an extinct genus of possibly Thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Barremian of the Paja Formation, Colombia. The type specimen, UNDG R-1000, is known from a near complete skull, and postcranial elements including a complete hindlimb and various vertebrae.[1] The specimen has an estimated size of over 4 metres (13 ft) in length.[2]

  1. ^ Marcela Gómez Pérez; Leslie F. Noè (2017). "Cranial anatomy of a new pliosaurid Acostasaurus pavachoquensis from the Lower Cretaceous of Colombia, South America". Palaeontographica Abteilung A. 310 (1–2): 5–42. doi:10.1127/pala/2017/0068.
  2. ^ Cortés, Dirley; Larsson, Hans C.; Parra, Juan De Dios (2022). "The Early Cretaceous Paja Formation biota in Colombia reveals an exuberant predator fossil record and a complex ecological network". 82nd Annual Meeting - SVP 2022 Program Guide (PDF). Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. p. 136.