恐龍卡第 0756 張，共 2 027 張

Gronausaurus

名字的意思： “Gronau lizard”4

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀早期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Gronausaurus was a long-necked marine reptile that swam in a huge freshwater lake in what is now Germany. It was not a dinosaur, but a plesiosaur that used its four flippers to paddle through the water. Scientists think it may actually be the same animal as another plesiosaur called Brancasaurus.1 4

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4

白堊紀早期

化石發現地

Gronau, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany4 1

長度

最多 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）

Gronausaurus 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)

Gronausaurus 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

Gronausaurus lived about 139 to 137 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous period.4

Its fossils were found in a clay pit near the city of Gronau, Germany, in 1910. Workers dug them out with pickaxes and accidentally broke many bones.1

The only known skeleton is missing most of the skull bones, many neck vertebrae, and some limb bones.2

Gronausaurus had special cavities under the bones of its chest and back that helped stabilize its muscles when swimming.2

Many scientists now think Gronausaurus is actually the same species as Brancasaurus, just a fully grown adult.1

It lived in a large freshwater lake that sometimes became salty when the sea flooded in.1

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

?Was Gronausaurus a dinosaur?

No, Gronausaurus was not a dinosaur. It was a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile that lived in water and used flippers to swim.1 3

?How big was Gronausaurus?

Gronausaurus was about 3.26 metres long as a subadult. That is roughly the length of a small car.3

?What did Gronausaurus eat?

Gronausaurus was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat. It likely caught fish and other small animals in its freshwater lake home.4

?Is Gronausaurus the same as Brancasaurus?

Many scientists now think Gronausaurus is actually the same species as Brancasaurus, just a fully grown adult. The two names might refer to the same animal.1 3

迷思破解王

迷思： Gronausaurus was a dinosaur.

真相： Gronausaurus was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that is not a dinosaur. Plesiosaurs are a different group of reptiles that lived in the water.4

給恐龍專家

學名: Gronausaurus
命名者: Hampe 20134
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Elasmosauridae4
分類: Plesiosauria > Elasmosauridae > Sauropterygia4
岩石的年代: 139 到 137 百萬年 (Berriasian)4
岩層: Bückeberg4
國家: 德國4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆4
發現: Gronausaurus was named by Oliver Hampe in 2013 based on a skeleton found in 1910 near Gronau, Germany. The skeleton was originally thought to belong to another plesiosaur, Brancasaurus.4 1
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure if Gronausaurus is a separate species or just a grown-up Brancasaurus. The two are very similar, and the differences might be due to age.1