Abyssosaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Abyssosaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 130 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 130 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Plesiosaurs & kin |
|---|---|
| Lived | 132.6–125.77 million years ago (Hauterivian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Cryptoclididae |
| Named by | Berezin 2011 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Russia |
| Rock formations | txn:38174 |
About Abyssosaurus
Abyssosaurus ("bottomless lizard") is an extinct genus of cryptoclidid plesiosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Chuvash Republic, western Russia. The type specimen, consisting of a fairly complete postcranial skeleton and parts of a skull, was discovered around the left tributary of the Sura River by Vasily V. Mita; it was found alongside the remains of a possible fetus, though this has not been described. Subsequently, the specimen entered the collection of the Museum of Chuvash Natural Historical Society. It was described in 2011 by Alexander Yu Berezin, who named its type species, A. nataliae, after his wife and colleague, Nataliya Berezina. While Berezin initially believed that Abyssosaurus was a basal aristonectid, part of a lineage whose later members evolved into giant filter-feeders, later studies have concluded that it was instead related to Colymbosaurus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Abyssosaurus (revision 1348843886), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q367217.
