Brachauchenius fossil map
Where fossils of Brachauchenius have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 100 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 100 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 | 125.77–89.8 million years ago (Barremian to Turonian) |
| Periods | Cretaceous |
| Family | Pliosauridae |
| Named by | Williston 1903 |
| Fossil records | 11 occurrences at 10 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Colombia, United Kingdom, Morocco |
| Rock formations | txn:38178, Greenhorn Limestone, Tropic Shale, Paja, Eagle Ford, Akrabou |
About Brachauchenius
Brachauchenius (meaning 'short neck') is an extinct genus of pliosaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what are now North America and North Africa. Only one species is known, B. lucasi, initially described by Samuel Wendell Williston in 1903 from a partial fossil skeleton discovered in a quarry in Kansas, United States. Many other fossil specimens attributed to the species were subsequently discovered, including an individual from Morocco whose presence was made official in 2016. Many contemporary pliosaur specimens were formerly attributed to Brachauchenius, but have since been reidentified as belonging to other genera or are recognized as indeterminate.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Brachauchenius (revision 1334892997), 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: Q135636.
.png){kind=link}