Kaiwhekea was a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile. It was not a dinosaur, though it coexisted with many dinosaurs. The first Kaiwhekea fossil was discovered in 2002.

Quick facts about Kaiwhekea:

  • Existed from Campanian Age to 66 million years ago
  • Lived in a marine environment
  • Was a carnivore
  • Reproduced by live birth
  • Only one specimen has been found by paleontologists

All the Kaiwhekea illustrations below were collected from the internet. Enjoy and explore:

Kaiwhekea was described by the following scientific paper(s):
  • A. R. I. Cruickshank and R. E. Fordyce. 2002. A new marine reptile (Sauropterygia) from New Zealand: further evidence for a Late Cretaceous Austral radiation of cryptoclidid plesiosaurs. Palaeontology 45(3):557-575