Umoonasaurus | |
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Holotype specimen nicknamed "Eric" (AM F99374), on display at the Australian Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
Order: | †Plesiosauria |
Family: | †Leptocleididae |
Genus: | †Umoonasaurus Kear, Schroeder & Lee, 2006 |
Species: | †U. demoscyllus
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Binomial name | |
†Umoonasaurus demoscyllus Kear, Schroeder & Lee, 2006
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Umoonasaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur belonging to the family Leptocleididae. This genus lived approximately 115 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian-Albian stages), in shallow seas covering parts of what is now Australia. It was a relatively small animal around 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) long. An identifying trait of Umoonasaurus is three crest-ridges on its skull.