Dinosaur Timeline Gallery

Kronosaurus - Late Cretaceous Period


Kronosaurus - Late Cretaceous reptile

Oil painting

KRONOSAURUS queenslandicus
Kronosaurus was probably the largest marine reptile that ever lived.It was a plesiosaur, a meat-eating marine reptile. It was a member of the Family Dolichorhynchopidae and lived during the earlyCretaceous period. Its name Kronosaurus means "Krono's lizard". Kronos (Chronos) was the Greek god of time, who ate his own children. The Kronosaurus was a highly maneuverable swimmer, that existed in Australia. Kronosaurus was among the most powerful and ferocious predators of the sea; it was an effective predator on many other marine reptiles, turtles, large fish, ammonites etc. This reptilian carnivore lived in the open
oceans, but it had to swim to surface regularly because it was an airbreathing animal.Kronosaurus was a short-necked plesiosaur with four long flippers,short neck and a pointed tail. It had a huge head (up to 9 ft/2.7 m long), about one-quarter of the total length of its body. It had very strong jaws and rounded teeth (the size of bananas) at the back of the jaws which could crush shells. Kronosaurus is known from many specimens.

TIME - 112 MYA
- Late Cretaceous Period
DIET - Sharks, ichthyosaurs, large squids
RANGE - Australia
SIZE - 42 ft.
long (12.8 m)


dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals."

