A new polycotylid plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian) of Morocco

A new Polycotylidae (Plesiosauria) from the Late Cretaceous (Turonian) of southern Morocco is described. Thililua longicollis gen. et sp. nov. is based on a complete cranium and 37 associated vertebrae. It differs from other polycotylids in several cranial and especially vertebral characters, such as the occurrence of 30 cervical vertebrae, whose centra are nearly as long as high and bear laterally longitudinal ridges. Thililua is the first polycotylid hitherto found in Africa and under subtropical palaeolatitudes.