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105-511: Local legend states that the shape of Mururata, a fairly flat-top as compared to neighbouring Illimani, became that way due to an act of jealousy. Apparently Mururata was taller than the Illimani, so Illimani chopped off Mururata's head. Another version says that Mururata looked down on the Inca. As a result the Inca was so outraged that he shot Mururata with his catapult and sent the top of Mururata away to

210-564: A Cretoxyrhina -like shark . In 1899, a partial fossil of a marine reptile was sent on behalf of a certain Andrew Crombie to the Queensland Museum of Brisbane , Australia , and was received by the zoologist Charles De Vis , who was then the director of the museum during that time. No information regarding the origin locality of the fossil is known, but it seems that it was probably discovered near of Hughenden, Queensland ,

315-470: A Boston industrialist, philanthropist and founder of the Cabot Corporation . Cabot's family had a history of sighting large sea snakes in the coastal waters around the town he is from. When questioning the museum's director, Alfred Sherwood Romer , about the existence and reports of sea serpents, it occurred to Romer to tell Cabot about the skeleton kept in the museum's basement. So Cabot asks about

420-524: A derived pliosaurid, Hilary F. Ketchum still classifying it as a sister taxon of Brachauchenius in this family. Adam S. Smith and Gareth J. Dyke reclassify both genera within the Brachaucheniidae, but the family is seen as the sister taxon of the Pliosauridae. McHenry suggests that if Ketchum's proposal is proved as valid, then it would be preferable to relegate Brachaucheniidae as a subfamily of

525-566: A scientific article published in 1924 by the journal of the Queensland Museum. Longman deduces that the fossil comes from a large pliosaur , to which he gives the genus and species name Kronosaurus queenslandicus . The generic name comes from Kronos , a Titan from the Greek mythology , and from ancient Ancient Greek σαῦρος ( saûros , "lizard"), to literally give "lizard of Kronos". Longman would have created this generic name in reference to

630-638: A central square where the bohío of the cacique was located. They were called "Salt People" because of their extraction of salt in various locations throughout their territories, mainly in Zipaquirá , Nemocón and Tausa . For the main part self-sufficient in their well-organised economy , the Muisca traded with the European conquistadors valuable products as gold , tumbaga (a copper - silver -gold alloy) and emeralds with their neighbouring indigenous groups . In

735-407: A diet consisting of large prey. The front teeth are larger than the back teeth. The limbs of Kronosaurus were modified into flippers, with the back pair larger than the front. The flippers would have given a wingspan of more than 5 m (16 ft) for the largest representatives. Phylogenetic classifications published since 2013 recover Kronosaurus within the subfamily Brachaucheninae ,

840-540: A length of 8.9 meters (29 ft) with a body mass of 6.7 t (6.6 long tons; 7.4 short tons). The most complete known attributed specimen, QM F10113, would have reached slightly smaller measurements, namely 8.6 meters (28 ft) long with a body mass of 5.7 t (5.6 long tons; 6.3 short tons). The largest specimens of Kronosaurus having been discovered in the Toolebuc Formation, QM F2446 and QM F2454, would have reached measurements almost identical to that of

945-723: A lineage which includes numerous pliosaurids that lived during different stages of the Cretaceous. Based on its stratigraphic distribution in the fossil record, Kronosaurus inhabited the Eromanga Sea , an ancient inland sea that covered a large part of Australia during the Early Cretaceous. This inner sea reached cold temperatures close to freezing . Kronosaurus would likely have been an apex predator in this sea, with fossil evidence showing that it preyed on sea turtles and other plesiosaurs. Estimates of its bite force suggest that

1050-469: A locality known as Army Downs. The latter had been aware for many years of the presence of "something strange coming out of the ground" in a small horse enclosure. These "strange things" were actually a row of vertebrae contained in nodules . Noticing his discovery, Thomas therefore informed the members of the Harvard expedition, and notably Schevill. The latter then contacts a British migrant trained in

1155-435: A message via telegraph informing journalists that it would be regrettable if such an important announcement made no mention of Longman and the interpretation of the initially fragmentary fossil material. At the age of 93, Thomas, the original discoverer of the specimen, was able to see the mounted skeleton of what he considered "his dinosaur", as well as meet again the leader of the museum's former expedition, each believing that

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1260-594: A morphology typical of the pliosaurids of the thalassophonean group, which has a large elongated skull connected to a short neck , unlike many other plesiosaurs , which have a long neck and a small head. Like all other plesiosaurs, Kronosaurus has a short tail , a massive trunk and two pairs of large flippers . Kronosaurus is one of the largest pliosaurs identified to date, but several estimates as to its exact size have been proposed during research. As early as 1930, Longman, in his description of propodiums, considered that Kronosaurus would have exceeded in size

1365-461: A now obsolete taxon which included plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs . De Vis initially thought the specimen came from an ichthyosaur, specifically Ichthyosaurus australis , which today seems to be placed in the genus Platypterygius . However, the particular dentition of this specimen quickly makes it change its mind about whether it belongs to this specific genus. The fossil was officially described by De Vis's successor, Albert Heber Longman , in

1470-531: A short tail and, like most pliosaurids, a long head and a short neck. The largest identified skulls of Kronosaurus dwarf those of largest known theropod dinosaurs in size. The front of the skull is elongated into a rostrum (snout). The mandibular symphysis, where the front ends of each side of the mandible (lower jaw) fuse, is elongated in Kronosaurus , and contains up to six pairs of teeth. The large cone-shaped teeth of Kronosaurus would have been used for

1575-568: A smaller size of this specimen between 9 and 10.5 meters (30 and 34 ft) long for a weight of 11 t (11 long tons; 12 short tons). These same measurements are seen as the maximum possible estimates of the genus as a whole. Even before McHenry's thesis was published, paleontologist Benjamin P. Kear and marine biologist Richard Ellis proposed comparable estimates in their respective works both published in 2003, ranging from 9 meters (30 ft) according to Kear at 10.6 meters (35 ft) according to Ellis. In 2024, Ruizhe Jackevan Zhao revises

1680-468: A town from which Crombie comes. Queensland Museum records show that De Vis even sent a letter to Crombie informing him that he had been made aware of the receipt of the material. The fossil in question, cataloged as QM F1609, consists of a partial mandibular symphysis bearing six conical teeth . Based on his observations, De Vis considers the fossil to come from a representative of the Enaliosauria ,

1785-576: A wingspan exceeding 5 m (16 ft). De Vis initially suggested that the Kronosaurus holotype specimen belonged to an ichthyosaur. However, when Longman described the taxon in 1924, he assigned it to the family Pliosauridae based on multiple anatomical features, an affiliation which will be mainly recognized throughout the 20th century as well as in the 21st century by the scientific community . However, some alternative classifications have been proposed throughout research. For example, in 1962, Welles suggested that Kronosaurus possibly belonged to

1890-559: Is common on the Altiplano. The Altiplano Cundiboyacense is surrounded by and contains various Andean unique ecosystems; páramos . 60% of all páramos in the world are situated in Colombia. (Specifically, in the department of Boyacá with the most relative area of páramos). Boyacá is the department where 18.3% of the national total area is located. To the south the Sumapaz Páramo (largest in

1995-457: Is estimated to be 2.85 metres (9.4 ft) long. The cranial measurements of the last three specimens previously cited surpass in size the skull of any known theropod dinosaurs . The snout and the mandibular rostrum are long and narrow in shape. The rostrum in general appears to be arched in shape and is relatively elongated, possessing a distinct median and dorsal crest. The eye sockets face posteriorly, where they are located laterally on

2100-458: Is one of the largest known pliosaurs identified to date. Initial estimates set its maximum size at around 13 m (43 ft) long based on the Harvard skeleton. However, the latter having been reconstructed with an exaggerated number of vertebrae , estimates published from the early 2000s reduce the size of the animal from 9 m (30 ft) to more than 10 m (33 ft) long. Like all plesiosaurs, Kronosaurus has four paddle-like limbs,

2205-590: Is regarded one of eleven archaeological regions of Colombia. The earliest evidence of human occupation in the region has been found in Pubenza , to the west of the Altiplano, dating to 16,000 years BP . On the Altiplano, the oldest findings are dated at 12,400 ± 160 years in El Abra . Slightly younger occurrences of settlement by hunter-gatherers have been discovered at Tibitó , with an estimated age of 11,740 +/- 110 years BP and Tequendama dated at 10,920 ± 260 years BP. In

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2310-404: Is temporarily referred to Eiectus , and that it is only a matter of time before CT scans can reveal whether or not the specimen belongs to Kronosaurus . Many Kronosaurus specimens preserve postcranial material. The most complete specimen known, cataloged as QM F10113, preserves an important part of the postcranial anatomy which would reveal important information for a more in-depth diagnosis of

2415-471: The SS Canadian Constructor around 1 December 1932. Once arrived at Harvard, the fossils, which represent approximately 60% of the skeleton, took several years to extract from the limestone . The lack of money, manpower and space within the museum is the cause of the long delays, and it will take until 1939 only for the skull to be mounted and exhibited. However, a first scientific description of

2520-635: The Altiplano to create the tallest mountain in Bolivia called Sajama . This La Paz Department geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense ( Spanish pronunciation: [altiˈplano kundiβoʝaˈsense] ) is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of

2625-532: The Aptian to Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now Australia . The first known specimen was received in 1899 and consists of a partially preserved mandibular symphysis , which was first thought to come from an ichthyosaur according to Charles De Vis . However, it was 1924 that Albert Heber Longman formally described this specimen as the holotype of an imposing pliosaurid , to which he gave

2730-634: The Bogotá Formation of the southern Altiplano. The biodiversity and former tranquility of the isolated ecosystem changed during the Pliocene, when the Panama Block emerged from the seas and formed a transferable connection with formerly isolated North America. This Great American Biotic Interchange led to a drastic rearrangement of South American fauna. Migrating species from North America replaced many formerly successful South American animals, among which

2835-516: The Bulldog Shale . In his 2009 thesis, McHenry describes in detail many fossils attributed to Kronosaurus , including most of the new specimens that he judges to possibly belong to this genus. Of the numerous fossil specimens that he analyzed, McHenry proposed that two partial skeletons, cataloged as QM F10113 and QM F18827, which both come from the Toolebuc Formation, could be candidate neotypes , because they present features that seem to fit with

2940-580: The Late Cretaceous aquatic squamate Mosasaurus hoffmannii would reach around 18 meters (59 ft) long, the latter having a reduced size to around 11 meters (36 ft) according to more recent estimates. Currently, the largest marine reptile identified to date is the Late Triassic ichthyosaur Ichthyotitan , which is thought to have reached around 25 meters (82 ft) in length. The Harvard skeleton restoration being erroneous, McHenry gives

3045-593: The Paja Formation of Villa de Leyva . During the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene (35-30 Mya) epochs, South America became detached from its longest connected former member of Pangea ; Antarctica . The isolation of the South American paleocontinent led to a large biodiversity of New World species. The dominating group of top predators and scavengers for decades of millions of years on the continent were

3150-503: The Paja Formation , was first provisionally referred to the genus Kronosaurus two years later, in 1979. It was in 1992 that the German paleontologist Olivier Hampe established a second species of the genus under the name of K. boyacensis , the specific name referring to Boyacá , the department surrounding the discovery site. However, these descriptions were made from photographs and remote imaging techniques, in particular because access to

3255-581: The Rolling Downs geological group , north of the town of Richmond, where he collected two large pliosaur specimens. These same specimens are collected from the Doncaster Member of the Wallumbilla Formation , dating back approximately 112 million years. The first specimen he exhumed, cataloged as MCZ 1284 and discovered on a property called Grampian Valley, consisted of a well-preserved piece of

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3360-665: The Spanish conquest , to the Muisca Confederation . The Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors . They were organised in a loose confederation of different rulers ; the zipa of Bacatá , with his headquarters in Funza , the zaque of Hunza , the iraca of the sacred City of the Sun Sugamuxi ,

3465-571: The Tenza Valley , to the east of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense where the majority of the Muisca lived, they extracted emeralds in Chivor and Somondoco . The economy of the Muisca was rooted in their agriculture with main products maize , yuca , potatoes and various other cultivations elaborated on elevated fields (in their language called tá ). Agriculture had started around 3000 BCE on

3570-554: The Toolebuc Formation , dating from the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous , the holotype having very probably also been discovered in this same locality. The majority of the material recovered is then very incomplete, the only two that can be concretely described being proximal parts of propodials (upper limb bones), which are analyzed in more detail the following year, and those again by Longman. In 1932, in an effort to make

3675-514: The Tundama of Tundama , and several independent caciques . The leaders of the Confederation at the time of conquest were zipa Tisquesusa , zaque Quemuenchatocha , iraca Sugamuxi and Tundama in the northernmost portion of their territories. The Muisca were organised in small communities of circular enclosures ( ca in their language Muysccubbun ; literally "language of the people"), with

3780-597: The nostrils . The lacrimal bones (bones bordering the lower front edges of the eye sockets) are present in small specimens, but tend to be fused in adults. The dorsal surface of the median dorsal crest is formed by the premaxillae and nasal bones (bones bordering the external nares), of which in adults are fused. The hyoid bones are robust. The mandibular symphysis of Kronosaurus is elongated and spatulate (spoon-shaped), and like its close relatives Brachauchenius and Megacephalosaurus , it contains up to 6 pairs of teeth. Each dentary (the tooth-bearing bone in

3885-659: The scientific name K. queenslandicus , which is still the only recognized species nowadays. The genus name , meaning "lizard of Kronos ", refers to its large size and possible ferocity reminiscent of the Titan of the Greek mythology , while the species name alludes to Queensland , the Australian state of its discovery. In the early 1930s, the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology sent an organized expedition to Australia that recovered two specimens historically attributed to

3990-446: The tail of Kronosaurus is unknown, the end of the caudal vertebrae would have supported a small caudal fin like in other plesiosaurs. The coracoid and pubis are both elongated from front to back. The hind limbs of Kronosaurus are longer than its forelimbs, with the femur being longer and robust than the humerus . This suggests that the largest representatives of Kronosaurus would have rear flippers which would have formed

4095-526: The taxon , including a well known skeleton that is now massively restored in plaster . Several attributed fossils were subsequently discovered, including two large, more or less partials skeletons. As the holotype specimen does not present diagnostics to concretely distinguish Kronosaurus from other pliosaurids, these same two skeletons are proposed as potential neotypes for future redescriptions. Two additional species were proposed, but these are now seen as unlikely or belonging to another genus. Kronosaurus

4200-516: The terror birds . Fossils of terror birds have been found throughout South America, with a major collection from current Argentina , where the biggest terror bird, Kelenken , roamed the paleopampas in the early Miocene. The forming Andes created a hilly landscape in the regions bordering the former sea inlet from the proto-Caribbean. Other land animals in the Tertiary were the xenungulate Etayoa bacatensis , evidence for which has been found in 1987 in

4305-567: The zipa who succeeded his brother Tisquesusa upon his death; Sagipa , allied with the Spanish to fight the Panche , eternal enemies of the Muisca in the southwest. In the Battle of Tocarema, the allied forces claimed victory over the bellicose western neighbours. In late 1538, other conquest undertakings resulted in more founded settlements in the heart of the Andes. Two other expeditions that were taking place at

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4410-505: The Altiplano Cundiboyacense, among others in Bojacá , Bogotá , Chía , Usme , Cogua , Cota , Facatativá , Nemocón , Madrid , Mosquera , Sáchica , Sibaté , Soacha , Subachoque , Suesca , Sutatausa , Tenjo , Tocancipá , Zipacón , Zipaquirá . The ages between 3000 and 1000 years before present corresponds to the Herrera Period , and the era between 1000 BP and 1537, the year of

4515-499: The Altiplano, the original vegetation is at risk. Most important city of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense is the Colombian capital Bogotá . Other cities are, from northeast to southwest: The Altiplano Cundiboyacense hosts a number of rivers and lakes. Kronosaurus Kronosaurus ( / ˌ k r ɒ n oʊ ˈ s ɔːr ə s / KRON -oh- SOR -əs ) is an extinct genus of large short-necked pliosaur that lived during

4620-401: The Altiplano. The agriculture of the Muisca was performed on small-scale cropfields, part of more extensive lands, and in a rather egalitarian manner; the higher social classes did not have access to more agricultural products than the lower class Muisca people. Their main difference was in the construction of their houses and access to meat. The predominant agricultural product of the Muisca

4725-405: The Harvard skeleton "a rather disappointing restoration of what must have been an excellent fossil specimen". For this reason, many researchers express their desire to analyze real fossils using CT scans . Given that the holotype specimen of K. queenslandicus (QM F1609) is fragmentary and does not present any unique characteristics that would qualify the genus as distinct from other pliosaurs,

4830-421: The Harvard skeleton. Respectively, these two specimens would have reached 10.2 to 10.5 meters (33 to 34 ft) in length with body masses estimated at 9.9 to 15.5 t (9.7 to 15.3 long tons; 10.9 to 17.1 short tons). Since the holotype of K. queenslandicus (QM F1609) consists of only a partial mandibular symphysis, very little can be said about it. However, more complete fossil skulls that are assigned to

4935-399: The Harvard specimen (MCZ 1285). Longman, in his letters to Schevill, suggests that he would have enjoyed seeing the specimen during its preparation in the late 1930s, but it never left Australian territory. The rest of the skeleton was kept in the basement of the museum for more than fifteen years. This interim period ended when the fossils attracted the attention of Godfrey Lowell Cabot ,

5040-455: The Pliosauridae, therefore being renamed Brachaucheninae. McHenry nevertheless maintains the name Brachaucheniidae in his thesis detailing in more detail Kronosaurus pending further phylogenetic results. In 2013, Roger B. S. Benson and Druckenmiller named a new clade within Pliosauridae, Thalassophonea . This clade included the "classic", short-necked pliosaurids while excluding the earlier, long-necked, more gracile forms. The authors thus move

5145-552: The Toolebuc Formation, more precisely from the Telemon station, about 30 km west of Hughenden. Among all the fossils Young was involved in exhuming are additional remains attributed to Kronosaurus , including the first somewhat more complete cranial parts identified within the genus. In his article published in October 1935, Longman, due to the high number of fossils, suggested that they came from at least two or three individuals. Noting that

5250-540: The Toolebuc Formation, the formation from which the first fossils attributed to the genus were discovered. In other formations, only one additional attributed specimen was discovered in the Doncaster Member of the Wallumbilla Formation, while three specimens, including one attributed to the type species , were discovered in the Allaru Formation . Two specimen with no specific affiliation were identified in

5355-454: The Toolebuc Formation. To determine whether this statement is true, only a CT scan could reveal the presence of the true notable differences within this reconstructed plaster specimen. In 1977, an almost complete skeleton of a large pliosaur was discovered by local residents of the town of Villa de Leyva , Colombia. The specimen, nicknamed " El Fósil " and dating from the Upper Aptian of

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5460-426: The administrative division where the specimen was discovered. Due to the fact that the holotype specimen of Kronosaurus is non-diagnostic, the majority of anatomical descriptions are based on observations made from more complete fossils later assigned to the genus. The majority of descriptions come from McHenry's thesis published in 2009, although some specimens have been described in other works. Kronosaurus has

5565-534: The aforementioned multiple-species possibility cannot justify a tentative reassignment of all specimens to Eiectus . The authors instead opted to refer to all relevant fossils as Kronosaurus-Eiectus . The same year, Stephen F. Poropat and colleagues maintained K. queenslandicus as a nominally valid taxon that includes all fossils from the Toolebuc and Allaru Formation pending an official ICZN petition, recommending specimen QM F18827 as neotype. The authors also criticize

5670-558: The animal would have reached between 15,000 to 27,000 newtons (3,370 to 6,070 lbf), surpassing the placoderm Dunkleosteus and rivaling Tyrannosaurus , but being largely outnumbered by the megalodon . The skull of a juvenile specimen shows that it would have been attacked by an adult , indicating intraspecific aggression or even potential evidence of cannibalism within the genus. Kronosaurus would have faced interspecific competition with other large predators within this sea, with one specimen attributed showing bite marks from

5775-465: The animal's fossils "attractive", Longman published one of the oldest known reconstructions of Kronosaurus . The illustration was drawn in 1931 by a certain Wilfrid Morden, who was inspired in particular by the anatomical features of Peloneustes to fill in the still unknown parts of the animal. In May and April 1935, a certain J. Edgar Young for the Queensland Museum, collected several fossils from

5880-493: The anterior rostrum closely connected to the entire mandibular symphysis, in addition to several other fragmentary pieces. The story regarding the discovery, exhumation and exhibition of the second specimen, cataloged as MCZ 1285, is much more detailed in many historical sources. This specimen was discovered long before the Harvard Expedition was even launched, by a rancher named Ralph William Haslam Thomas, in

5985-401: The anterior half of the skull. The temporal fossae (openings in the back of the cranium) are very large, but does not have an anterior interpterygoid vacuity. One of the many traits identified as unique in Kronosaurus is that the premaxilla (front upper tooth-bearing bones) has 4 caniniform teeth. The frontal bones (bones bordering the eye sockets) do not come into contact with

6090-502: The biggest lake of Colombia; present-day Lake Tota . Lake Tota is the remnant of a Pleistocene glacial lake higher up the Altiplano to the east. Lake Humboldt is thought to have existed until around 30,000 years ago with as modern remaining water bodies Lake Herrera , wetlands of Bogotá and the Bogotá River . Lake Humboldt had an irregular shoreline with an island in the centre; the present-day Suba Hills . The Altiplano Cundiboyacense

6195-432: The cervical centra (vertebral bodies) are wider than the dorsals . The anterior dorsal vertebrae are nevertheless higher than wide. The zygapophyses would have been visibly absent from the anterior dorsal vertebrae and in the caudal vertebrae . In the thoracic region, the ribs would have been robust, as suggested by the transverse processes which are equally robust. The ribs would also been single-headead. Although

6300-533: The conquest expedition went south and conquered Pasca and other settlements. The Spanish leader returned with his men to the Bogotá savanna and planned new conquest expeditions executed in the second half of 1537 and first months of 1538. On August 6, 1538, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada founded Bogotá as the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada , named after his home region of Granada , Spain. That same month, on August 20,

6405-495: The conquistadors arrived at the northern edge of the Bogotá savanna in Suesca . continued to Lenguazaque that was founded the next day, En route towards the domain of zipa Tisquesusa , the Spanish founded Cajicá and Chía . In April 1537 they arrived at Funza , where Tisquesusa was beaten by the Spanish. This formed the onset for further expeditions, starting a month later towards

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6510-567: The cost of a restoration and Romer says "about $ 10,000". Romer may not have been serious, but Cabot clearly was because the check for said sum came shortly after. Given that Romer's primary interest was the study of non-mammalian synapsids , it is possible that he had little regard for the skeleton as a subject of scientific study. After two years of careful preparations with chisel and acid by Arnold Lewis and James A. Jensen under Romer's direction, their work ultimately cost slightly more than promised by Cabot's base check. The Harvard skeleton

6615-588: The departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá . The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca . The Altiplano Cundiboyacense comprises three distinctive flat regions; the Bogotá savanna , the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá , and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso . The average altitude of the altiplano is about 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) above sea level but ranges from roughly 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). Altiplano in Spanish means "high plain" or "high plateau",

6720-715: The dual aim of obtaining specimens of both living and extinct animals, and in particular marsupial mammals . This decision came from the fact that the museum had relatively few Australian animals and therefore wanted to collect more. It was then that the Harvard Australian Expedition began, and was undertaken by a team of six men. The team consisted of coleopterologist P. Jackson Darlington Jr. , zoologist Glover Morrill Allen and his student Ralph Nicholson Ellis, chief physician Ira M. Dixon, paleontologist William E. Schevill , and their leader, entomologist William Morton Wheeler . The following year, in 1932, it

6825-474: The earliest ages of human population prehistoric animals as the Cuvieronius , Haplomastodon and Equus amerhippus were living on the Altiplano. Later dated excavations have revealed a transition from a hunter-gatherer society living in rock shelters to open area settlements with Checua and Aguazuque as examples. Various burial sites at Checua have been dated between 8200 and 7800 years BP. During

6930-1023: The earliest phases, the first humans lived together with Pleistocene now extinct mastodons , as the fossil remains of Haplomastodon waringi , Neochoerus and Odocoileus in Soatá indicate. The main part of the diet of the people was formed by white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ). Other mammals included little red brocket ( Mazama rufina ), guinea pigs ( Cavia porcellus ), nine-banded armadillo ( Dasypus novemcinctus ), white-lipped peccary ( Tayassu pecari ), crab-eating fox ( Dusicyon thous ), spectacled bear ( Tremarctos ornatus ), ocelot ( Felis pardalis ), puma ( Felis concolor ), lowland paca ( Agouti paca ), Agouti taczamawskii , Dasyprocta , ring-tailed coati ( Nasua nasua ), western mountain coati ( Nasuella olivacea ), common opossum ( Didelphis marsupialis ) and collared anteater ( Tamandua tetradactyla ). Various archaeological sites with petroglyphs or pictographs have been discovered on

7035-583: The eastern Tenza Valley and the northern territories of zaque Quemuenchatocha . On August 20, 1537, the zaque was submitted in his bohío in Hunza . The Spanish continued their journey northeastward into the Iraca Valley , where the iraca Sugamuxi fell to the Spanish troops and the Sun Temple was accidentally burned by two soldiers of the army of De Quesada in early September. Meanwhile, other soldiers from

7140-437: The family Brachaucheniidae as a subfamily, renaming it Brachaucheninae, and classify many Cretaceous pliosaurids there, including Kronosaurus . Within this subfamily, Kronosaurus appears to be one of the most derived representatives, being generally placed in a clade including Brachauchenius and more recently Megacephalosaurus . Subsequent studies have uncovered a similar position for Kronosaurus . The cladogram below

7245-478: The family Dolichorhynchopidae. However, this family is today recognized as polyphyletic (unnatural grouping) and is seen as invalid. The exact phylogenetic positioning of Kronosaurus within the Pliosauridae has also been debated. In 1992, Hampe proposed to classify Kronosaurus with its close relative Brachauchenius in the proposed family Brachaucheniidae. Kenneth Carpenter agreed with Hampe in 1996, although noting some notable cranial differences between

7350-546: The forming Andean chain left its trace in the form of the many emeralds found in the western and eastern parts of the Altiplano. From the Early Cretaceous until the Eocene, the region of the present-day Altiplano was dominated by a marine environment, as part of the long inland sea of northern South America. In these warm tropical seas a fauna of ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs developed, with important finds ( Kronosaurus boyacensis ( El Fósil ), Muiscasaurus , with four nostrils) in

7455-450: The fossils were not fully prepared at the time of his description, he describes them preliminary. The most notable specimen, cataloged as QM F2446, consists of a partial middle of the skull which preserves an occipital condyle , the back of the neurocranium , the external nostrils as well as the orbits . In 1931, the Museum of Comparative Zoology sent an expedition to Australia with

7560-407: The front of the jaws, while the smaller teeth are more sharply recurved, stouter, and located further back. The Harvard skeleton historically attributed to Kronosaurus received a study detailing its postcranial anatomy by Romer and Lewis in 1959. However, as the latter was massively restored in plaster, it is currently difficult to discern it with real fossil material. Additionally, the specimen

7665-441: The holotype is so massively restored with plaster that all features apparent diagnostics are probably unreliable without comprehensive CT scans. Although the only currently recognized species of Kronosaurus is K. queenslandicus , several authors have suggested the existence of additional species within the genus. In 1982 and again in 1991, Ralph Molnar expressed doubts as to whether the Harvard skeleton (MCZ 1285) belonged to

7770-399: The holotype. However, no formal ICZN petition to designate a neotype was submitted. In 2022, Leslie Francis Noè and Marcela Gómez-Pérez published a study that revised most of the specimens historically attributed to Kronosaurus . Both authors limit Kronosaurus only to the holotype and consider it a nomen dubium . The holotype specimen does not possess any features allowing a diagnostic,

7875-484: The imposing Megalneusaurus , a North American pliosaurid dating from the Late Jurassic . After the collection of fossils assigned to the genus by the Harvard Expedition, the maximum size of Kronosaurus was generally set at 12.8 meters (42 ft) long,based on specimen MCZ 1285. Kronosaurus was then considered as being the largest known marine reptile until 1995, when Theagarten Lingham-Soliar suggested that

7980-626: The imposing size and possible ferocity of the animal, which could recall the story of Kronos, who is known in Greek mythology for having devoured his own children, notably Zeus . The specific epithet queenslandicus is named after the Queensland , the Australian state where the holotype specimen was most likely discovered. In August 1929, fifteen more or less partial fossils are discovered nearly 3.2 km south of Hughenden. These same fossils, all catalogued as QM F2137, are identified as coming from

8085-404: The mandible) have up to 26 teeth. The mandibular glenoid (socket of the jaw joint ) is kidney-shaped and angled upwards and inwards. The main autapomorphy of Kronosaurus teeth is that they are conical in shape, roughly ridged, and lacking distinct carinae. The dentition of Kronosaurus is heterodont , that is, it has teeth of different shapes. The larger teeth are caniniform and located at

8190-402: The margin of the eye sockets due to their connections between the postfrontal and prefrontal bones . The frontal bones also do not come into contact with the middle part of the skull roof due to their connections between the parietal bones and facial processes of the premaxillae. The prefrontals are large and contact the anteromedial part of the eye sockets as well as the posterior border of

8295-412: The measurements of MCZ 1285 at 10.3 meters (34 ft). Other specimens have been given body estimates although some of these are only known from more limited fossil remains. QM F1609, the holotype specimen, although very fragmentary, would have measured 5.9 meters (19 ft) long with a body mass of 1.9 t (1.9 long tons; 2.1 short tons). The proposed neotype specimen QM F18827 would have reached

8400-481: The northeast. The Altiplano is subdivided into three major valleys, from northeast to southwest: The average temperature on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense is 14 °C (57 °F), ranging from 0 °C (32 °F) to 24 °C (75 °F). The driest months of the year are from December to March, while rain is more common in April, May, September, October and November. From June to August strong winds are present. Hail

8505-435: The northwest of the Altiplano was covered with a lake, of which the current Lake Fúquene is a retreating remainder. To the extreme northeast, in Soatá , another Pleistocene lake was present. The largest paleolake in the latest Pleistocene was Lake Humboldt or Lake Bogotá covering the Bogotá savanna . The lake, some 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi) in size, at that time would have been seventy times larger than

8610-438: The often flooded highlands and a system of irrigation and drainage was developed. They cultivated their crops in rows of mounds. A delegation of more than 900 men left the tropical city of Santa Marta in April 1536 and went on a harsh expedition through the heartlands of Colombia in search of El Dorado and the civilisation that produced all that precious gold. The leader of the first and main expedition under Spanish flag

8715-501: The other attributed fossils are provisionally moved to a new taxon that the two authors name Eiectus longmani , in homage to Longman, the paleontologist who named the original genus. The Harvard skeleton (MCZ 1285) is also designated a holotype of this same genus. In 2023, Valentin Fischer and colleagues criticized the reassignments even under these circumstances, predicting that they stand contrary to ICZN Articles 75.5 and 75.6 and that

8820-402: The other had been dead for a long time. The arrival of new knowledge in the field of paleontology subsequently calls into question the restoration of the skeleton as proposed by Romer. Indeed, because of many incomplete bones, the latter ordered Lewis and Jensen to add plaster where he deemed it necessary. This latest decision has made it difficult for paleontologists to access real fossils, to

8925-501: The point where some of them use the nickname " Plasterosaurus " to refer to the specimen. In addition, it seems that the skeleton was reconstructed with the wrong proportions. According to Australian paleontologist Colin McHenry, the specimen has 8 extra vertebrae added to the spine and the skull is not supposed to have a bulbous shaped sagittal crest on top. In his thesis revising the genus Kronosaurus published in 2009, McHenry called

9030-499: The repurposing of Toolebuc specimens, on the grounds that Noè and Gómez-Pérez presumably ignored the conclusion of McHenry's 2009 thesis that only one species of large pliosaur exists in the formation and that, therefore, all of its specimens can be reliably considered conspecific to the holotype. As for Eiectus , Poropat and colleagues limit it only to MCZ 1285 and the referred specimen MCZ 1284, but their assignment without formal redescription also remains subject to debate, given that

9135-521: The same time; of De Belalcázar from the south and Federmann from the east, reached the newly founded capital and the three leaders embarked in May 1539 on a ship on the Magdalena River that took them to Cartagena and from there back to Spain. Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada had installed his younger brother Hernán as new governor of Bogotá and the latter organised new conquest campaigns in search of El Dorado during

9240-548: The second half of 1539 and 1540. His captain Gonzalo Suárez Rendón founded Tunja on August 6, 1539, and captain Baltasar Maldonado , who had served under De Belalcázar, defeated the cacique of Tundama at the end of 1539. The last zaque Aquiminzaque was decapitated in early 1540, establishing the new rule over the former Muisca Confederation . Present-day, due to the large population and agriculture of

9345-566: The second part is a combination of the departments Cundinamarca and Boyacá . The limits of the Altiplano are not strictly defined. The high plateau is enclosed by the higher mountains of the Eastern Ranges, with the Sumapaz mountains in the south and Chingaza to the east. The Tenza Valley is located to the east of the Altiplano and the Ocetá Páramo and Chicamocha Canyon are situated to

9450-461: The skull was made by Theodore E. White in 1935. One year earlier, in 1934, Schevill asked Longman to send a cast of the holotype mandibular symphysis for comparison with the new specimen. It was then Longman's assistant, a certain Tom Marshall, who took it upon himself to make Schevill's request. The researchers then realized that the characters of the holotype (QM F1609) were identical to those of

9555-616: The south, starting in the previously founded Kingdom of Quito in what is now Ecuador . The conquest of the Muisca on the Altiplano started in March 1537, when the greatly reduced troops of De Quesada entered Muisca territories in Chipatá , the first settlement they founded on March 8. The expedition went further inland and up the slopes of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense into later Boyacá and Cundinamarca . The towns of Moniquirá (Boyacá) and Guachetá and Lenguazaque (Cundinamarca) were founded before

9660-406: The species K. queenslandicus , given that it was discovered in a locality distinct from that of the first known specimens, namely in the older Wallumbilla Formation. The author therefore suggests that this specimen would belong to another species of Kronosaurus characterized by a deeper and more robust skull than those coming from the Toolebuc Formation. A study published in 1993 also attributes

9765-512: The specimen under the name Kronosaurus sp., the authors following the same opinion as Molnar. However, as White indicates in his description of the specimen in 1935, much of the skull roof is not preserved and is mostly restored in plaster, the real proportions being therefore uncertain. In his 2009 thesis, McHenry nevertheless continues to refer the specimen to K. queenslandicus because of its taphonomic distribution and certain traits which may be consistent with other specimens discovered in

9870-457: The specimen was prohibited by the local community. In addition, the state of preservation of the specimen and anatomical characteristics different from those of K. queenslandicus also suggested doubts about the affiliation of this species to Kronosaurus . It was therefore in 2022 that Noè and Gómez-Pérez re-described this specimen and discovered that it belonged to a distinct genus, which they named Monquirasaurus , in reference to Monquirá ,

9975-412: The taxon show unique traits . The skulls of various known specimens of Kronosaurus vary in size. The holotype, which although partial and fragmentary, comes from a skull which would have measured a total of 1.31 metres (4.3 ft) long. Candidate neotype specimens QM F10113 and QM F18827 have cranial lengths reaching 1.87–1.98 metres (6.1–6.5 ft), respectively. The skull of the Harvard skeleton

10080-434: The taxon. This same specimen should also be described in more detail in a future study. Some features concerning the postcranial anatomy of the genus have however been noted, both in McHenry's thesis and in other articles. Based on the different specimens analyzed, McHenry estimates that Kronosaurus would have had at least 35 presacral vertebrae , including 13 cervical and 5 pectoral vertebra. Unlike Pliosaurus ,

10185-410: The terror birds. The Late Pleistocene of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense has been analysed in detail through various methods based on fossils found on the Altiplano. Pleistocene megafauna inhabited the glacial highlands of the eastern Andean chain. The climate in the glacials and stadials led to the formation of various prehistoric lakes in the valleys of the Altiplano. The Ubaté-Chiquinquirá Valley in

10290-475: The two genera. The family Brachaucheniidae was originally erected in 1925 by Samuel Wendell Williston to include only Brachauchenius . In 2001, F. Robin O'Keefe revised the classification of Pliosauridae and classified Kronosaurus as a basal representative distantly related to Brachauchenius . In 2008, two studies and a thesis proposed alternative classifications for Kronosaurus . Patrick S. Druckenmiller and Anthony P. Russell classified Kronosaurus as

10395-465: The use of explosives, nicknamed "The Maniac" by local residents, in order to extract the specimen of 4.5 metric tons (5.0 short tons) of rock which constitutes its geological matrix . When the specimen was unearthed, its fossils were then sent to the United States in 86 crates weighing a total of 6 metric tons (6.6 short tons). According to the export permit, the specimen was transported aboard

10500-465: The validity of this taxon has therefore been questioned. As early as 1962, Samuel Paul Welles considered Kronosaurus as a nomen vanum and recommended the designation of a neotype specimen from Harvard University which would preserve the genus validity. From 1979, a good number of fossils from large pliosaurs were discovered in various localities in Australia, mainly in the geological strata of

10605-552: The world) forms a natural boundary of the Altiplano. Chingaza contains páramo vegetation, as does the most beautiful Ocetá Páramo in the northeast. On the Altiplano the microclimate of the surroundings of Lake Iguaque produces a páramo. Regional geology The Altiplano Cundiboyacense is formed as part of the uplift of the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes since Neogene times. Hydrothermal activity in fractures of

10710-448: Was Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada , with his brother Hernán second in command. Several other soldiers were participating in the journey, who would later become encomenderos and take part in the conquest of other parts of Colombia. Other contemporaneous expeditions into the unknown interior of the Andes, all searching for the mythical land of gold, were starting from later Venezuela , led by Bavarian and other German conquistadors and from

10815-585: Was maize and they had numerous words in their language , Muysccubun for the plant, kernels and processing of it. Evidence for maize cultivation predates the Muisca; already in the Herrera Period maize cultivation has been identified based on pollen analysis. The cacicazgos were self-sufficient in their agricultural products and surpluses of maize ( abitago ) were traded for more tropical climate fruits such as pineapples , avocados and Ipomea batatas . The Muisca used terraces for their agriculture on

10920-545: Was Schevill who acquired the title of expedition leader, making long journeys and recruiting local help when he could. The Queensland Museum was also invited to participate in this expedition, but this was never approved due to lack of funds and/or interest from the state government. However, Longman, who described the first known fossils of Kronosaurus , nevertheless assisted the expedition, storing specimens as they were sent to him, securing collecting permits, and maintaining correspondence with Schevill. Schevill then ventured into

11025-458: Was exhibited for the first time on 10 June 1958, and is followed by a detailed scientific description carried out by Romer and Lewis, which was published the following year by the museum journal. When the finalization of the specimen was announced in the Australian press, Longman, who is the descriptor of the taxon, was not mentioned. In response, professor and geologist Walter Heywood Bryan sent

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