恐龍卡第 1152 張，共 2 027 張

Megacephalosaurus

名字的意思： “great-headed lizard”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Megacephalosaurus was a huge, short-necked plesiosaur that swam in the ancient sea that split North America in two. It had a massive head, the biggest of any plesiosaur found on the continent, and used its long snout to catch smaller prey.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

94 到 90 百萬年前3

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Kansas and other parts of the midwestern United States1 3

長度

6 到 9 m (20 到 30 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 23 公里（14 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 2 台汽車排成一排一樣長跟 50 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 7.8 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Megacephalosaurus 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)

Megacephalosaurus 時速約 23 公里 (14 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

Megacephalosaurus was one of the last pliosaurs, living about 94 to 93 million years ago during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous.1

Its skull was up to 1.75 meters (5.7 feet) long, making it the largest skull of any plesiosaur known from North America.1

The teeth had long, thin ridges called apicobasal ridges that helped grip and puncture slippery prey.1

It shared its ocean home with sharks like Cretoxyrhina and Squalicorax, as well as other marine reptiles like mosasaurs and sea turtles.1

The first fossils were found in 1950 and were originally thought to belong to a different pliosaur called Brachauchenius lucasi.1

It was not until 2013 that scientists realized the fossils were from a new, distinct animal and named it Megacephalosaurus.1

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

?How big was Megacephalosaurus?

It was one of the largest marine reptiles of its time, estimated to be 6 to 9 meters (20 to 30 ft) long. Its skull alone could reach 1.75 meters (5.7 ft) in length.1

?What did Megacephalosaurus eat?

It likely ate smaller prey, because it had a long snout and teeth that were all about the same size. Its teeth had ridges that helped grip and puncture slippery animals.1 2

?When did Megacephalosaurus live?

It lived about 94 to 93 million years ago, during the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It was among the last of the pliosaurs.1

?Is Megacephalosaurus a dinosaur?

No, it is not a dinosaur. It is a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile that lived in the ocean at the same time as dinosaurs.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Megacephalosaurus
命名者: Schumacher et al. 20133
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Pliosauridae3
分類: Plesiosauria > Pliosauridae > Sauropterygia3
岩石的年代: 94 到 90 百萬年 (Turonian)3
岩層: Carlile Shale, Greenhorn Limestone3
國家: 美國3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 2 筆3
發現: The first fossils were discovered in 1950 by George F. Sternberg in Kansas. They were later studied by Bruce Schumacher, Kenneth Carpenter, and Mike Everhart, who named the new species Megacephalosaurus eulerti in 2013.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating how the last brachauchenine pliosaurs, including Megacephalosaurus, are related to each other and what their teeth tell us about their evolution.2