Spitrasaurus

Spitrasaurus is an extinct genus of cryptoclidid^[1] plesiosauroid plesiosaur known from the uppermost Jurassic of central Spitsbergen, Norway^[2] and likely also Kimmeridge, England.^[3] It is named after a syllabic abbreviation for Spitsbergen Travel. Two species have been named: Spitrasaurus wensaasi, honouring volunteer Tommy Wensås, and Spitrasaurus larseni honouring volunteer Stig Larsen.

Spitrasaurus Temporal range: Tithonian ~150–145 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Life restoration
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Plesiosauria
Family:	†Cryptoclididae
Genus:	†Spitrasaurus Knutsen, Druckenmiller & Hurum, 2012
Species
†S. wensaasi Knutsen, Druckenmiller & Hurum, 2012 (type) †S. larseni Knutsen, Druckenmiller & Hurum, 2012

The holotype, found in 2004, of S. wensaasi is PMO 219 718 and consists of sixty articulated cervical vertebrae and other postcranial material from a juvenile,^[2] and the holotype of S. larseni, found in 2010, is SVB 1450, a juvenile skeleton which consists of cervical vertebrae but also of skull material.^[2]

A cervical vertebra, MANCH LL 5519c, was found in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in England and was tentatively assigned to cf. Spitrasaurus in 2014 after being compared to Colymbosaurus megadeirus,^[3] while more possible Spitrasaurus vertebrae found at Kimmeridge reside within the collection of Steve Etches.

See also

• List of plesiosaur genera
• Timeline of plesiosaur research