Due to its large size and ferocious appearance, Kronosaurus is one of the most famous plesiosaurs. The iconic skeleton referred to Kronosaurus on display in the Museum of Comparative Zoology in Harvard is nicknamed ‘plasterosaurus’ because so much of it is reconstructed in plaster. About a third of the skeleton is plaster and there are at least seven vertebrae too many in the dorsal region of the vertebral column. As mounted, the specimen measures 42 feet (12.8m), but the actual length would be considerably less in reality. Kronosaurus was named after the mythical Kronos who, according to Greek mythology, swallowed his five children as they were born.
There are presently two known species of Kronosaurus. Kronosaurus queenslandicus Longman, 1924 (the type species), and Kronosaurus boyacensis Hampe, 1992.




Kronosaurus queenslandicus
Species
K. queenslandicus
Author
Longman, 1924
Classification
Sauropterygia
Eosauropterygia
Eusauropterygia
Pistosauroidea
Pistosauria
Plesiosauria
Pliosauroidea
Pliosauridae
Kronosaurus
Age
Albian, Lower Cretaceous
Type location
'Army Downs', the Hughenden district (north of Richmond), Queensland, Australia
Type specimen
Queensland Museum (unspecified)
Referred material
MCZ 1285, an incomplete skeleton (the famous Harvard 'plasterosaurus' skeleton); MCZ 1284, a rostrum with teeth
Kronosaurus boyacensis
Species
K. boyacensis
Author
Hampe, 1992
Classification
Sauropterygia
Eosauropterygia
Eusauropterygia
Pistosauroidea
Pistosauria
Plesiosauria
Pliosauroidea
Pliosauridae
Kronosaurus
Age
Upper Aptian
Type location
Vereda Monquirá, about 5km WNW of Villa de Leyva, Boyacá Province, Colombia
Type specimen
"El Fosil" (See Hampe, 1992)
Referred material
None