恐龍卡第 0300 張，共 2 027 張

Brancasaurus

名字的意思： “Branca's lizard”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀早期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Brancasaurus was a plesiosaur, a long-necked marine reptile that lived in a freshwater lake. It had a small head and a long tail, and swam with four flippers like paddles.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

139 到 137 百萬年前5

白堊紀早期

化石發現地

North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany1 5

長度

3.26 m (11 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 28 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

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 3 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 18 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 6.4 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Brancasaurus 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)

Brancasaurus 時速約 28 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

Brancasaurus lived in a huge freshwater lake, not the ocean. The lake was sometimes connected to the sea.1

Its neck bones had tall, shark-fin-shaped spines on top, which is unusual for plesiosaurs.1

The first fossil was found by workers digging clay with pickaxes in 1910. They accidentally broke the hip bone into 176 pieces.1

Brancasaurus was about 3.26 metres (10.7 feet) long as a subadult. Adults may have been a bit bigger.1

Another plesiosaur named Gronausaurus wegneri is now thought to be the same as Brancasaurus, just a different growth stage.1 2

Brancasaurus shared its lake with sharks, crocodiles, turtles, and many kinds of fish.1

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

?Was Brancasaurus a dinosaur?

No, Brancasaurus was a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile that lived in the time of the dinosaurs, but it was not a dinosaur itself.1 3

?How big was Brancasaurus?

The most complete fossil, a subadult, was about 3.26 metres (10.7 feet) long. Adults may have been a bit bigger.1 4 3

?What did Brancasaurus eat?

Brancasaurus likely hunted fish near the surface of the water, such as Caturus, Lepidotes, and Callopterus.1 3

?Where did Brancasaurus live?

Brancasaurus lived in a large freshwater lake in what is now Germany, during the Early Cretaceous period. The lake was sometimes connected to the sea.1 4 3

給恐龍專家

學名: Brancasaurus
命名者: Wegner 19145
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Leptocleididae5
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia5
岩石的年代: 139 到 137 百萬年 (Berriasian)5
岩層: Bückeberg5
國家: 德國5
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆5
發現: Brancasaurus was named by Theodor Wegner in 1914. He named it after the paleontologist Wilhelm von Branca. The first skeleton was found in a clay pit near Gronau, Germany in 1910.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure whether Brancasaurus belongs to the elasmosaurid family or the leptocleidid family. Different studies give different answers.1 2