''Sachicasaurus'' is an extinct genus of brachauchenine

pliosaurid Pliosauridae is a family of plesiosaurian marine reptiles from the Latest Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous ( Rhaetian to Turonian stages) of Australia, Europe, North America and South America. The family is more inclusive than the archetypa ...

known from the

Barremian The Barremian is an age in the geologic timescale (or a chronostratigraphic stage) between 129.4 ± 1.5 Ma (million years ago) and 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma). It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous Epoch (or Lower Cretaceous Series). It is preceded ...

of the

Paja Formation Paja may refer to: * Paja, Iran, a village in Sari County * Paja (given name), a Serbian masculine name * Paja (surname) * Paja Formation, geologic formation in Colombia * Paja Brava :''Paja Brava is also used in Spanish speaking countries to ...

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. The altiplano corresponds to the ancient territory of the Muisca. The Alti ...

in the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Leagu ...

of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is ''S. vitae''.

Etymology

The genus name ''Sachicasaurus'' refers to

Sáchica Sáchica is a municipality of Colombia situated approximately west of Tunja in the Ricaurte Province of the department of Boyacá. Sáchica borders Sutamarchán and Villa de Leyva in the north, in the east Chíquiza, Samacá and Ráquira in the ...

, the village where the fossil was found, and ''saurus'', meaning "lizard" in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

.Páramo Fonseca ''et al.'', 2018, p.225 The species

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''vitae'', meaning "life" in Latin, was chosen because of the life in Sáchica the fossil find has sparked.Páramo Fonseca ''et al.'', 2018, p.226

Description

The holotype specimen, MP111209-1, is known from a near complete skull, and postcranial elements including a complete hindlimb and various vertebrae. Diagnostic features include a very short mandibular symphysis, reduced number of mandibular teeth (17 to 18 versus 25 to 40 in other pliosaurids),Páramo Fonseca ''et al.'', 2018, p.232 slender teeth, among other features. The specimen has an estimated length of almost .Páramo Fonseca ''et al.'', 2018, p.224 The specimen is interpreted as a sub-adult individual. In 2022,

Gregory S. Paul Gregory Scott Paul (born December 24, 1954) is an American freelance researcher, author and illustrator who works in paleontology, and more recently has examined sociology and theology. He is best known for his work and research on theropod dino ...

estimated its adult size at in length and in body mass, making it one of the largest pliosaurs.

Paleoenvironment

''Sachicasaurus'' is one of four pliosaurids from the Paja Formation, others being ''

Acostasaurus ''Acostasaurus'' (meaning "Acosta's lizard") is an extinct genus of possibly Thalassophonean pliosaurid known from the Barremian of the Paja Formation, Colombia. The type specimen, UNDG R-1000, is known from a near complete skull, and postcranial ...

'',Gómez Pérez & Noè, 2017 ''

Stenorhynchosaurus ''Stenorhynchosaurus'' is an extinct genus of pliosaurid plesiosaurs which lived in the Early Cretaceous of South America. The type species and only known is ''Stenorhynchosaurus munozi''. It was a medium-sized pliosaur, reaching an adult body l ...

'',Páramo ''et al.'', 2016 and ''

Monquirasaurus ''Monquirasaurus'' is a monotypic genus of giant pliosaurid from the Cretaceous Paja Formation in Colombia. It contains a single species, ''M. boyacensis'', previously known as ''Kronosaurus boyacensis''. History and naming The holotype and only ...

''. It is also contemporaneous with the elasmosaurids ''

Callawayasaurus ''Callawayasaurus'' is a genus of plesiosaur from the family Elasmosauridae. When the holotype was first described by Samuel Paul Welles in 1962, it was described as ''Alzadasaurus colombiensis'' before being moved into its current genus by Ken ...

'' and ''

Leivanectes ''Leivanectes'' is a genus of plesiosaurs of the family Elasmosauridae known from Late Aptian marine deposits in central Colombia. It contains a single species, ''L. bernadoi'', which was described in 2019. Description ''Leivanectes'' differ ...

'',Páramo Fonseca ''et al.'', 2019 the marine turtle ''

Desmatochelys padillai ''Desmatochelys'' (from Greek δεσμός ''desmos'' 'link' + χέλῡς ''khelus'' ‘tortoise’) is an extinct genus of sea turtles belonging to the family Protostegidae. This genus contains two known species, ''D. lowii'' and ''D. padillai' ...

'',Cadena ''et al.'', 2015a the sandowniid turtle ''

Leyvachelys ''Leyvachelys'' is an extinct genus of turtles in the family Sandownidae from the Early Cretaceous ( Late Aptian to Early Albian) of the present-day Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Eastern Ranges, Colombian Andes. The genus is known only from its type ...

'',Cadena ''et al.'', 2015b and the ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaurs ''

Muiscasaurus ''Muiscasaurus'' is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurid Ichthyosaur that lived in modern Colombia during the Early Cretaceous. The only known species is the type ''Muiscasaurus catheti''. Discovery The fossils of ''Muiscasaurus'' were found ...

'' and ''

Kyhytysuka ''Kyhytysuka'' () is an extinct genus of ophthalmosaurian ichthyosaur from Early Cretaceous Colombia. The animal was previously assigned to the genus ''Platypterygius'', but given its own genus in 2021. ''Kyhytysuka'' was a mid-sized ophthalmosa ...

''.Maxwell ''et al.'', 2015

References

Bibliography

;Sachicasaurus * ;Other paleofauna * * * * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q62023578 Pliosaurids Early Cretaceous reptiles of South America Barremian life Cretaceous Colombia Fossils of Colombia Paja Formation Fossil taxa described in 2018 Taxa named by María Páramo Muysccubun Sauropterygian genera