恐龍卡第 0345 張，共 2 027 張

Cardiocorax

名字的意思： “heart raven, referring to the heart-shaped hole between its shoulder blades”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Cardiocorax was a long-necked marine reptile that swam in the seas near Africa 71 million years ago. It was not a dinosaur but a plesiosaur, with four flippers that helped it paddle through the water like a sea turtle. Scientists think it used a special rowing style to chase fish and other prey.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

72 到 66 百萬年前4

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Namibe Province, Angola (Bentiaba, Mocuio Formation)1 3

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)

Cardiocorax 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

Cardiocorax had a heart-shaped hole between its shoulder blades, which is why it is named 'heart raven'.1

Its shoulder blade had a very small upper part, unlike other elasmosaurids. This helped it swim with a special rowing motion.2

The first fossils of Cardiocorax were found in 2015 in Angola, Africa. They included a complete shoulder and hip girdle, neck bones, and part of a front flipper.1

A second specimen was found just 7 meters away from the first one. It had a more complete hip and a hind flipper.1

Cardiocorax lived about 71.4 to 71.6 million years ago, during the early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous.1

Its species name 'mukulu' means 'ancestor' in Angolan Bantu languages.1

Cardiocorax is a type of elasmosaurid, a group of plesiosaurs with very long necks and small heads.1

Cardiocorax 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Cardiocorax 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。

給恐龍專家

學名: Cardiocorax
命名者: Araújo et al. 20154
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Elasmosauridae4
分類: Plesiosauria > Elasmosauridae > Sauropterygia4
岩石的年代: 72 到 66 百萬年 (Maastrichtian)4
岩層: Mocuio4
國家: 安哥拉4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 2 筆4
發現: Cardiocorax was named in 2015 by a team of scientists including Ricardo Araújo and Octávio Mateus. The fossils were found in the Mocuio Formation of Angola, Africa.1 3
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating exactly how Cardiocorax used its flippers to swim, because its shoulder bones are different from other plesiosaurs.2