News release on Kaiwhekea, new New Zealand plesiosaur

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler bh480@scn.org
News release on Kaiwhekea, new New Zealand plesiosaur

I posted the citation and abstract a few weeks back for 
the new plesiosaur described in the latest issue of 
Palaeontology: Kaiwhekea katiki (pronounced kie-FEK-ay-uh  
KUH-ti-kee). There's now an official press release about 
it--it's identified as a cryptoclidid but it's clearly 
related to Mortuneria and Aristonectes, and so may be a 
member of the Cimoliasauridae as defined by O'Keefe (2001) 
instead:
http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/2002/
05-06-02_press_release.html

New Species of Ancient Marine Reptile Named by Otago 
Geologist
Wednesday 5 June 2002
It's been described as a snake threaded through the body 
of a turtle. Called the plesiosaur, this ancient giant 
fast-swimming reptile once roamed the world alongside 
dinosaurs. But now the discovery of a new genus and 
species of the plesiosaur embedded in the rocky shores of 
New Zealand is making a few waves in the world of 
palaeontology. 
A University of Otago geologist's description of this 
creature has just been published in the British journal 
Palaeontology. 
The plesiosaur fossil, discovered at Shag Point in North 
Otago, is the first of its family (Cryptoclididae) to be 
found in New Zealand, and is only the third such member to 
be found in the Southern Hemisphere. 
The fossil, which represents a previously unknown breed, 
has been named Kaiwhekea Katiki by AssociateProfessor Ewan 
Fordyce of the University?s Geology Department and Dr 
Arthur Cruickshank of Leicester Museums in England. 
"Kaiwhekea is the genus, meaning squid-eater, and Katiki 
is the species, named for the beach immediately north of 
Shag Point, where the creature was found in a 70 million 
year old rock formation," says Professor Fordyce.
The fossil is "one of the most dramatic of its kind in New 
Zealand", as large portions of the body are almost in life 
position and its skull is naturally associated with its 
skeleton, says Professor Fordyce. "Other plesiosaur 
fossils found in New Zealand have previously been 
described either from skulls or from other parts, such as 
limbs. At last we can be sure what sort of skull goes with 
what sort of skeleton," he added.
Professor Fordyce and fellow University geologists have 
spent many years painstakingly removing the rock 
surrounding the fossil, which was collected and moved to 
the University in 1983. Their work has revealed the 
details of an air-breathing eight metre-long reptile that 
fed on medium sized soft-bodied prey such as squid, and 
probably weighed between two and three tonnes, he says.
"The shape of the skull suggests the creature had large 
fast-acting and/or powerful jaw muscles and its hind 
flipper features are consistent with fast swimming 
capabilities. Also, it appears to have had large forward-
looking eyes, perhaps feeding in gloomy depths where this 
would be an advantage," he says.
The fossil record of the specimen's family, 
Cryptoclididae, is "intriguingly" incomplete, with mid-
northern hemisphere fossils found being tens of millions 
of years older than the far southern ones. No intermediate 
age fossils have been found, nor any in localities in-
between, says Professor Fordyce.
The plesiosaur will be displayed in the Otago Museum's 
Southern Land, Southern People gallery, which is expected 
to open in September.