Dino card No. 1112 of 2,027

Macroplata

Say it: MAK-roh-PLAH-tuh

Name means: “big plate”1

Ate: MeatPlesiosaursEarly JurassicNot technically a dinosaur

Macroplata was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea during the Early Jurassic. It had a long neck and sharp teeth to catch fish. Its big shoulder bones helped it swim fast.1

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

201 to 200 million years ago3

Early Jurassic

Fossils found in

Harbury, Warwickshire, United Kingdom3 1

Food

Meat1

Length

4.38 to 4.65 m1

Weight

604 kg1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 20 big dogs

as long as 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 26 bananas end to endas heavy as 120 watermelons

How big was Macroplata compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Macroplata had a long neck that was twice the length of its skull.1

Its shoulder bones were very large, giving it a powerful forward stroke for fast swimming.1

The only known fossil of Macroplata is a nearly complete skeleton found by workmen in a cement quarry.2

Macroplata had six teeth in each premaxilla, the front part of the upper jaw.2

It lived about 199 to 195 million years ago during the Early Jurassic.1

AI-made picture of Macroplata — An AI-made picture of how Macroplata might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Macroplata

?How big was Macroplata?

Macroplata was about 4.38 to 4.65 metres (14.4 to 15.3 feet) long and weighed about 604 kilograms (1,332 pounds).1

?What did Macroplata eat?

Macroplata probably ate fish, catching them with its sharp, needle-like teeth.1

?Was Macroplata a dinosaur?

No, Macroplata was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur.1

?When did Macroplata live?

Macroplata lived during the Early Jurassic, about 199 to 195 million years ago.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Macroplata
Named by: Swinton 19303
Group: Plesiosaurs
Family / clade: Rhomaleosauridae3
Classification: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia3
Age of the rocks: 201 to 200 million years (Hettangian)3
Rock formations: Blue Lias3
Countries: United Kingdom3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Macroplata was named by William Swinton in 1930 based on a nearly complete skeleton found in a cement quarry at Harbury, Warwickshire, UK.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly how Macroplata is related to other plesiosaurs.2

Where the facts come from

Macroplata (en.wikipedia.org)
THE ANATOMY AND TAXONOMY OF MACROPLATA TENUICEPS (SAUROPTERYGIA, PLESIOSAURIA) FROM THE HETTANGIAN (LOWER JURASSIC) OF WARWICKSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM (plesiosauria.com)
Macroplata in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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