Alexandronectes

Alexandronectes Temporal range: Maastrichtian ~ 72-66 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Family:	†Elasmosauridae
Genus:	†Alexandronectes Otero et al., 2016
Species:	†A. zealandiensis
Binomial name
†Alexandronectes zealandiensis Otero et al., 2016

Alexandronectes is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur, a type of long-necked marine reptile, that lived in the oceans of Late Cretaceous New Zealand. It contains one species, A. zealandiensis.^[1] Fossils of Alexandronectes were found in the Conway Formation of Canterbury,^[2] which can be dated to the Early Maastrichtian stage of the Cretaceous. Fossils of it were found around 1872 near the Waipara River, north of Christchurch, New Zealand. ^[3]

Description[]

Alexandronectes belongs to the elasmosaurid subfamily Aristonectinae based on the pterygoid structure and an A-shaped squamosal arch. However, it differs from other aristonectines in its smaller skull, different paroccipital processes, and different mandibular glenoid.^[1] A 2021 study used CT scans to create digital reconstructions of the holotype, and detected the stapes in the inner ear, marking the first time this bone has been found in an aristonectine. The study also found a recess in the floccular lobe of the cerebellum, which may have functioned to stabilize both the head and the retinal image of Alexandronectes. This is the first occurrence of this feature in an elasmosaurid. ^[3]

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