恐龍卡第 0686 張，共 2 027 張

Gallardosaurus

名字的意思： “Gallardo's lizard”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類侏羅紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Gallardosaurus was a short-necked, big-headed marine reptile that swam in warm seas near Cuba 160 million years ago. It was a pliosaur, a type of plesiosaur with a huge skull and strong jaws for catching fish.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

159 到 155 百萬年前3

侏羅紀晚期

化石發現地

Jagua Formation, Viñales area, western Cuba1 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)

Gallardosaurus 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

Gallardosaurus is known from only one partial skull and a few neck bones. The tip of the snout and the back of the lower jaw are missing.1

The bones were found inside a hard rock called a concretion, which helped preserve them in three dimensions.1

The individual was probably not fully grown when it died, because some of its vertebrae were not fused together.1

Gallardosaurus lived in a shallow sea only about 10 to 12 metres (33 to 39 feet) deep. Oysters and algae grew on the seafloor.1

It shared its home with ichthyosaurs, a marine turtle called Notoemys oxfordiensis, and another plesiosaur named Vinialesaurus caroli.1

Scientists think Gallardosaurus may have migrated across the Caribbean Seaway each season, following the fish it hunted.1

The first fossil was discovered in 1946 by a Cuban farmer named Juan Gallardo. It was not fully studied until many years later.1

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

?How big was Gallardosaurus?

No complete skeleton has been found, so its exact size is unknown. Based on the partial skull and neck bones, it was probably a medium-sized pliosaur, but scientists do not have enough fossils to give a reliable length or weight.1 2

?What did Gallardosaurus eat?

It was a carnivore that likely ate fish. Scientists think it was an active predator that hunted nectonic (swimming) fish in the warm Caribbean Seaway.1 2

?Is Gallardosaurus a dinosaur?

No, Gallardosaurus is a pliosaur, which is a type of plesiosaur. Plesiosaurs are marine reptiles, not dinosaurs.1 3

?When did Gallardosaurus live?

It lived during the middle to late Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic, about 159 to 155 million years ago.1 3

給恐龍專家

學名: Gallardosaurus
命名者: Gasparini 20093
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Pliosauridae3
分類: Plesiosauria > Pliosauridae > Sauropterygia3
岩石的年代: 159 到 155 百萬年 (Oxfordian)3
岩層: Jagua3
國家: 古巴3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆3
發現: The only known fossil was found in 1946 by Cuban farmer Juan Gallardo near Viñales, Cuba. It was first thought to be a species of Pliosaurus or Peloneustes, but in 2009 paleontologist Zulma Gasparini named it a new genus, Gallardosaurus.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Gallardosaurus grew, because only a partial skull and a few vertebrae have been found.1