恐龍卡第 1019 張，共 2 027 張

Latoplatecarpus

名字的意思： “wide flat wrist”1

吃：肉滄龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Latoplatecarpus was a huge marine lizard that swam in the seas during the time of the dinosaurs. It was not a dinosaur, but a fierce predator with a long body and powerful jaws. It could grow over 8 metres long, as long as a school bus!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

84 到 72 百萬年前4

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Fossils have been found in Manitoba, Canada, and also in the northern Gulf of Mexico and Russia.1 4

長度

最多 8 m (26 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 36 公里（22 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 8 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 44 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 5 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Latoplatecarpus 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)

Latoplatecarpus 時速約 36 公里 (22 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

Latoplatecarpus was one of the largest plioplatecarpine mosasaurs, with one species reaching over 8 metres (26 feet) long.1

Its skull was nearly complete in the first fossil found, including the lower jaw and many teeth.1

The name Latoplatecarpus means 'wide flat wrist', because of the shape of its wrist bones.1

It lived about 80.5 million years ago, during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous.1

Scientists think its ear bones were tilted forward in life, which may have helped it hear underwater.2

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

?What did Latoplatecarpus eat?

It was a carnivore that likely ate fish and possibly cephalopods, using its short snout and powerful body to catch smaller prey.3

?Where did Latoplatecarpus live?

It lived in the Late Cretaceous seas of North America, including the Western Interior Seaway, and a single specimen was found in Russia.1

?How fast could Latoplatecarpus swim?

Scientists think it was fast and agile in the water, thanks to its wide front flippers that helped it steer and keep level.3

迷思破解王

迷思： Some people think Latoplatecarpus was a dinosaur because it lived with dinosaurs.

真相： Latoplatecarpus was a mosasaur, a marine reptile, not a dinosaur. Dinosaurs lived on land, while mosasaurs swam in the sea.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Latoplatecarpus
命名者: Konishi and Caldwell 20114
類群: 滄龍類
科 / 演化支: Mosasauridae4
分類: Mosasauroidea4
岩石的年代: 84 到 72 百萬年 (Campanian)4
岩層: Pierre Shale4
國家: 加拿大4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 4 筆4
發現: Latoplatecarpus was named by Takuya Konishi and Michael Caldwell in 2011. The first fossil, a nearly complete skull and partial skeleton, was found in Manitoba, Canada.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure if the species L. nichollsae really belongs to Latoplatecarpus or to another mosasaur called Plioplatecarpus.1