Albertonectes (Cretaceous)
Albertonectes is a long-necked Cretaceous period plesiosaur which nhabited Canada 73.5 million years ago. The first fossil was found in 2007 during ammolite mining near St. Mary's River near Lethbridge, in southern Alberta. The remains were outstandingly complete with 132 vertebrae, limbs, ribs, gastroliths, almost an entire pelvis and shoulder girdle.
Albertonectes inhabited water basins thus getting its name “Alberta swimmer”. The aquatic reptile has a record-breaking neck length for the vertebrates. It included 76 vertebrae and reached 7 metres in length with the entire body length of 11 metres. The predator’s feed was the other aquatic inhabitants flesh.
