恐龍卡第 1120 張，共 2 027 張

Maiaspondylus

名字的意思： “caring mother vertebra”1

吃：肉魚龍類白堊紀早期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Maiaspondylus was a marine reptile that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur. It was an ichthyosaur, a fast-swimming predator with a long snout and sharp teeth. Fossils show that it gave birth to live babies, just like whales and dolphins do today.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

110 到 106 百萬年前4

白堊紀早期

化石發現地

Northwest Territories, Canada; also England and Russia1

長度

3 到 4 m (9.8 到 13 ft)4

最高速度

時速約 48 公里（30 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 4 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 22 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 3.8 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Maiaspondylus 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)

Maiaspondylus 時速約 48 公里 (30 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

Maiaspondylus means 'caring mother vertebra' because a fossil was found with two embryos inside an adult, showing it gave live birth.1

The embryos found inside the adult are the smallest and youngest ichthyosaur embryos ever discovered.1

Maiaspondylus lived about 110 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous period.1

Its fossils were first found in the Loon River Formation in Canada's Northwest Territories.1

Maiaspondylus had a special skull bone arrangement: the jugal and maxilla overlapped a lot, which helped scientists tell it apart from other ichthyosaurs.2

Its teeth had smooth crowns and fluted cementum (the root covering), and they curved inward toward the tongue.2

The arm bone (humerus) of Maiaspondylus had three knobs at the end for muscles, with the middle knob smaller than the outer ones.2

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

?How big was Maiaspondylus?

No one knows for sure because no complete skeleton has been found. The known fossils include a nearly complete skeleton and vertebrae from adults, but scientists have not estimated its total length.1

?Did Maiaspondylus give live birth?

Yes. A fossil of an adult Maiaspondylus was found with two embryos inside, proving it gave birth to live babies, just like whales and dolphins.1 3

?Where was Maiaspondylus found?

Its fossils were first found in the Loon River Formation in Canada's Northwest Territories. Later, fossils were also found in England and Russia.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Maiaspondylus
命名者: Maxwell and Caldwell 20064
類群: 魚龍類
科 / 演化支: Ophthalmosauridae4
分類: Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha4
岩石的年代: 110 到 106 百萬年 (Albian)4
岩層: Loon River4
國家: 加拿大4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆4
發現: Maiaspondylus was named by scientists Erin Maxwell and Michael Caldwell in 2006. The fossils were found by technician Allan Lindoe, who collected and prepared them.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating exactly how Maiaspondylus is related to other ichthyosaurs, especially the genus Platypterygius.1