Cardiocorax is an extinct genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur that lived in the Late Cretaceous of Angola. The type and only species is Cardiocorax mukulu.
Discovery and Naming[]
The holotype (MGUAN PA103) was discovered in Bench 19 locailty. They were collected from the Mocuio Formation. It was named by Ricardo Araújo, Michael J. Polcyn, Anne S. Schulp, Octávio Mateus, Louis L. Jacobs, A. Olímpio Gonçalves and M.-L. Morais in 2015. The generic name is derived from Greek Kardia, meaning "heart", and corax, meaning "crow". The specific name comes from the word mukulu in Bantu dialects, meaning "ancestor".
Description[]
It is from a complete pectoral and pelvic girdle, five neck and one back vertebrae, a forelimb including the humerus, radius bone, ulna and isolated phalanges, and many dorsal ribs. A second specimen (MGAUN PA270) was also referred to the genus, and is from a more complete pelvic girdle and a single hind limb.
Classification[]
It is classified as a member of the family Elasmosauridae. Its sister taxon is Styxosaurus.
Paleoecology[]
It coexisted with Epapatelo in Mocuio Formation.
Gallery[]
