恐龍卡第 0071 張，共 2 027 張

Alexandronectes

名字的意思： “Alexander's swimmer, after Alexander McKay who found the fossils”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Alexandronectes was a long-necked marine reptile that swam in the seas around New Zealand near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It was a type of plesiosaur called an elasmosaurid, with a big head and a short neck compared to other elasmosaurids. It used its strong flippers to paddle through the water and hunt for fish and squid.1 2

趣味小知識：這種海生爬蟲類在海裡游泳的時候，恐龍正在陸地上走路。大家都叫牠們恐龍，但牠們其實是爬蟲類的另一個分支。

生存年代

84 到 66 百萬年前4

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Waipara River, north of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand3 1

最高速度

時速約 27 公里（17 英里）

游泳, 估計值

牠生活在什麼時候？

三疊紀

侏羅紀

白堊紀

2 億 5200 萬年前20114566，小行星撞地球

牠有多快？

走路的人 時速約 5 公里 (3 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 時速約 12 公里 (7 mph)

Alexandronectes 時速約 27 公里 (17 mph)

一匹飛奔的馬 時速約 65 公里 (40 mph)

一隻獵豹 時速約 100 公里 (62 mph)

酷東西

趣味知識

Alexandronectes was a type of plesiosaur called an aristonectine, a group known for having unusually large skulls compared to other elasmosaurids.1

Its skull was smaller than those of other aristonectines like Kaiwhekea and Aristonectes, showing that not all members of this group were giants.1

The fossils of Alexandronectes were collected in 1872 by Alexander McKay, a famous New Zealand fossil hunter, but scientists did not name the animal until 2016.1 3

Its name means 'Alexander's swimmer from Zealandia', referring to the ancient continent that New Zealand is part of.1

Alexandronectes lived about 70 million years ago, during the early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.1 3

The only known fossils are two pieces of the back of the skull, which were originally thought to belong to two different animals.1

Alexandronectes 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Alexandronectes 可能的樣子。這只是猜測：真正的動物可能長得不一樣，也沒有人知道牠真正的顏色。

你們都在問

關於 Alexandronectes 最常被問的問題

?Was Alexandronectes a dinosaur?

No, it was a plesiosaur, a type of long-necked marine reptile that lived in the oceans, not a dinosaur.3

?How big was Alexandronectes?

Scientists do not know its exact size because only parts of its skull have been found. Its skull was smaller than those of other aristonectines like Kaiwhekea and Aristonectes.3 1

?What did Alexandronectes eat?

It likely ate fish and squid, using its strong flippers to paddle through the water and hunt.3

給恐龍專家

學名: Alexandronectes
命名者: Otero et al. 20164
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Elasmosauridae4
分類: Plesiosauria > Elasmosauridae > Sauropterygia4
岩石的年代: 84 到 66 百萬年 (Campanian / Maastrichtian)4
岩層: Conway4
國家: 紐西蘭4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆4
發現: The fossils were found in 1872 by Alexander McKay near the Waipara River in New Zealand. They were stored at the Canterbury Museum for over 140 years before being studied and named Alexandronectes zealandiensis in 2016.1 3
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Alexandronectes was, because only a partial skull has been found.1