Fluvionectes Temporal range: Campanian
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Life restoration | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
Order: | †Plesiosauria |
Family: | †Elasmosauridae |
Genus: | †Fluvionectes Campbell et al., 2021 |
Species: | †F. sloanae
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Binomial name | |
†Fluvionectes sloanae Campbell et al., 2021
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Fluvionectes (meaning "river swimmer", from both Latin and Greek) is a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur found in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta, Canada. It is known from a holotype, which includes parts of the trunk area, and from a much larger specimen referred to this taxon.[1]
The holotype indiviudal of Fluvionectes reached 5 m (16 ft) long. A much larger specimen indicates that this taxon may have reached 7 m (23 ft) in maximum body length.[1]
The describers placed Fluvionectes in the Elasmosauridae, in a clade with Albertonectes, Nakonanectes, Styxosaurus, and Terminonatator, which by definition places it in the Elasmosaurinae subfamily.[1]
Fluvionectes appears to have been a freshwater (and possibly brackish water) animal based on its discovery from a non-marine to paralic sedimentary unit. This is significantly different in contrast to most elasmosaurs which were oceanic.[1]