Kronosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids KronosaurusTemporal range: Lower Cretaceous
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Kronosaurus
Longman, 1924
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Kronosaurus; meaning "lizard of Kronos" is an extinct genus of short-necked pliosaur. With an estimated length of 9 to 10.9 metres (30 to 36 ft), it was among the largest pliosaurs, and is named after the leader of the Greek Titans, Cronus.
It lived in the Early Cretaceous period (Aptian to Late Albian). Fossil material has been recovered from the Toolebuc Formation and Wallumbilla Formations of Queensland and New South Wales in Australia, and from the upper Paja Formation in Boyacá, Colombia, and assigned to two species.
Like other pliosaurs, Kronosaurus was a marine reptile. It had an elongated head, a short neck, a stiff body propelled by four flippers, and a relatively short tail. The rear flippers were larger than the front. Kronosaurus was likely a fast, active swimmer.
Kronosaurus was carnivorous, and had many long, sharp, conical teeth. A feature of the genus Kronosaurus is that the first three upper teeth are enlarged to fangs. In 2009, K. queenslandicus was estimated to weigh about 10.6 to 12.1 tonnes (11.7 to 13.3 short tons). The skull length of Kronosaurus was estimated to be 2.21–2.85 metres (7.3–9.4 ft).
Fossil stomach contents from Northern Queensland show that Kronosaurus preyed on turtles and plesiosaurs (marine reptiles).
Kronosaurus is known from Australia and Colombia. Both areas were covered by shallow inland seas when Kronosaurus inhabited them.
Images for kids
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K. queenslandicus at Harvard University which may have been reconstructed with too many vertebrae
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Restoration of K. queenslandicus
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Assigned specimen in Kronosaurus Korner museum, Queensland
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Life restoration of K. queenslandicus preying on Woolungasaurus
See also
In Spanish: Kronosaurus para niños
