Kronosaurus - Cretaceous Reptile
Cretaceous period 112 million years ago

Kronosaurus, Cretaceous Reptile. Art Print 13" x 19". Original oil painting by paleo-artist Josef Moravec. Kronosaurus is in the art collection of Dinosaur Corporation.

Kronosaurus (pronounced Kroe-noe-sore-uss) was one of the sea reptiles known as pliosaurs — a member of the plesiosaur group, but in the Pliosauridae family, with the distinctive feature of a much shorter, thicker neck. It was one of the largest pliosaurs.

Kronosaurus lived in the Early Cretaceous Period. Most of its fossils are known from Australia, where they were first discovered in 1889 in Queensland, which was covered by shallow sea some 120 million years ago, though the most complete fossil to date was found in Villa de Leyva (Colombia) in 1977. The name was given in 1924 by Heber Longman. For many years, estimates put the total length of Kronosaurus at up to 13 meters (43 feet), but recent studies of its fossil skull and other parts, and comparisons with other pliosaurs, suggest that the true length was probably only 9–10 meters (30–33 feet). Other creatures preserved from the time include numerous fish and various molluscs such as squid, ammonites and belemnites. Some of their fossil shells bear tooth marks that could have been made by Kronosaurus, whose rear teeth were rounded and suited to crushing hard-cased victims.