恐龍卡第 0168 張，共 2 027 張

Aristonectes

名字的意思： “best swimmer”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Aristonectes was a huge marine reptile that swam in the seas near Antarctica and South America at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It had a big head, a short neck, and a body shaped a bit like a whale. It used its wide mouth to suck up food from the seafloor, just like a gray whale does today.1

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

Argentina, Chile, and Antarctica4 1

長度

10 到 11.9 m (33 到 39 ft)1

體重

4.2 公噸到 13.5 公噸 (9,300 到 29,800 lb)1

最高速度

時速約 21 公里（13 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

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多重？

跟 2 頭大象一樣重

跟 2.5 台汽車排成一排一樣長跟 66 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長跟 9 台汽車一樣重跟 2700 顆西瓜一樣重跟 17 整班小學生一樣重跟 30 隻北極熊一樣重能在 8.6 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Aristonectes 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡算算數學。什麼都不會被儲存或傳送出去。

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)

Aristonectes 時速約 21 公里 (13 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

Aristonectes is one of the biggest and heaviest plesiosaurs ever found. One Antarctic specimen may have weighed as much as 13.5 metric tons (about 15 tons), as heavy as a large school bus.1

Unlike most plesiosaurs, which had very long necks, Aristonectes had a short neck and a big, bulky skull. Scientists put it in a special group called Aristonectinae because of this.1

Aristonectes probably migrated between Patagonia and Antarctica, just like many whales do today. Its fossils are found in both places.1

The first fossils of Aristonectes were discovered in Argentina in 1941, but scientists had a hard time studying them because the bones were not well prepared. It took decades to figure out what kind of plesiosaur it was.1

Aristonectes had a mouth that could open very wide, letting it gulp a huge amount of water and food at once. It fed by mixing prey with sediment from the seafloor, a method called benthic suction feeding.1

Like other plesiosaurs, Aristonectes probably swallowed stones called gastroliths. These may have helped grind up food in its stomach or helped control its buoyancy in the water.1

Aristonectes 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Aristonectes 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 Aristonectes 最常被問的問題

?How big was Aristonectes?

Aristonectes was huge, measuring more than 10 metres (33 feet) long. One Antarctic specimen may have reached 11 to 11.9 metres (36 to 39 feet) and weighed 10.7 to 13.5 metric tons (11.8 to 14.9 short tons).1 2

?What did Aristonectes eat?

Aristonectes likely ate crustaceans and small fish, based on its small teeth. It fed by sucking up prey and sediment from the seafloor, like a gray whale.1 3

?Was Aristonectes a dinosaur?

No, Aristonectes was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived alongside the dinosaurs. It was not a dinosaur.1

?Where did Aristonectes live?

Aristonectes lived in the seas near Patagonia and Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in Chile, Argentina, and Antarctica.1

?Could Aristonectes swim?

Yes, Aristonectes was a strong swimmer, using its large paddle-like limbs to move through the water. Its name means 'best swimmer'.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Aristonectes
命名者: Cabrera 19414
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: Quiriquina, López de Bertodano, Lopez de Bertodano4
國家: 智利, 南極洲, 阿根廷4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 12 筆4
又名: Turneria （舊名稱現在也算作同一種動物）4
發現: Aristonectes was named by Argentine paleontologist Ángel Cabrera in 1941, based on fossils found in Chubut, Argentina. The first species named was Aristonectes parvidens.1 4
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating exactly how Aristonectes is related to other plesiosaurs. For a long time it was thought to be a cryptoclidid, but now most agree it is an elasmosaurid.1