恐龍卡第 0563 張，共 2 027 張

Ectenosaurus

名字的意思： “drawn-out lizard”1

吃：肉滄龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Ectenosaurus was a fast-swimming marine lizard that lived in the Late Cretaceous seas. It had a very long snout and a stiff body, so it moved by wagging its tail like a fish. This rare mosasaur was a top predator in the ancient ocean.1 3

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

90 到 72 百萬年前3

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Kansas, Alabama, and Texas, USA1 3

長度

5 到 6 m (16 到 20 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 38 公里（24 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 6 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 33 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 4.7 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Ectenosaurus 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)

Ectenosaurus 時速約 38 公里 (24 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

Ectenosaurus had tiny scales, only 2.7 by 2.0 millimetres, which were smaller than those of other mosasaurs of similar size.1

Its body was stiff in the front, so it could not slither like a snake. Instead, it used its tail fin to push through the water.1

Scientists have found skin impressions from Ectenosaurus that show a complex mesh of fibers, helping them understand how it swam.1

Ectenosaurus is one of the rarest mosasaurs, but it had at least four different species.2

Stable isotope studies suggest that Ectenosaurus lived in open ocean waters, not just near the shore.1

The first Ectenosaurus fossil was originally thought to be a species of Platecarpus, but later scientists gave it its own genus.1

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

迷思破解王

迷思： Some people think mosasaurs like Ectenosaurus swam by wiggling their whole body like a snake.

真相： Actually, Ectenosaurus had a stiff front body and used only its tail for swimming, much like modern whales.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Ectenosaurus
命名者: Russell 19673
類群: 滄龍類
科 / 演化支: Mosasauridae3
分類: Mosasauroidea3
岩石的年代: 90 到 72 百萬年 (Coniacian / Campanian)3
岩層: Niobrara, Pen, Mooreville Chalk3
國家: 美國3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 5 筆3
發現: The first fossil was found in Logan County, Kansas, and was named Platecarpus clidastoides by John C. Merriam in 1894. Dale Russell renamed it Ectenosaurus in 1967.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure whether Ectenosaurus belongs in the subfamily Plioplatecarpinae or is more closely related to mosasaurines like Prognathodon.1