恐龍卡第 1268 張，共 2 027 張

Nichollssaura

名字的意思： “Nicholls' lizard”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀早期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Nichollssaura was a small, fast-swimming marine reptile that lived in the ancient seas of North America. It had a long neck, four flippers, and a mouth full of sharp teeth for catching fish.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

113 到 100 百萬年前2

白堊紀早期

化石發現地

Alberta, Canada1 2

長度

2.6 到 2.9 m (8.5 到 9.5 ft)1

體重

135 kg (298 lb)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？

牠有多重？

跟 7 隻狗一樣重

跟 3 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 16 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長跟 27 顆西瓜一樣重跟 7 個幼兒園小朋友一樣重跟 4 個小學生一樣重能在 6.4 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Nichollssaura 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)

Nichollssaura 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

Nichollssaura fills a 40-million-year gap in the fossil record of North American plesiosaurs, meaning no plesiosaur fossils from that time were known before its discovery.1

The only known skeleton was accidentally discovered by a 100-ton electric shovel operator in an oilsand mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta, in 1994.1

The fossil is almost complete, missing only a few bones like the left forelimb and some ribs, which were lost when the shovel hit the skeleton.1

Inside the stomach of the Nichollssaura fossil, scientists found 165 gastroliths (stomach stones) made of chert and quartzite, which may have helped it digest food.1

The gastroliths in Nichollssaura are similar to those found in another plesiosaur from the same area, Wapuskanectes, suggesting both animals collected stones from the same ancient beaches.1

Nichollssaura was originally named Nichollsia borealis in 2008, but that name was already used for a type of isopod (a small crustacean), so it was changed to Nichollssaura in 2009.1 2

Nichollssaura 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Nichollssaura 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。

給恐龍專家

學名: Nichollssaura
命名者: Druckenmiller and Russell 20092
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Leptocleididae2
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia2
岩石的年代: 113 到 100 百萬年 (Albian)2
岩層: Clearwater2
國家: 加拿大2
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆2
發現: The fossil was discovered in 1994 by shovel operators Greg Fisher and Lorne Cundal in an oilsand mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta. It was named Nichollsia borealis in 2008 by Druckenmiller and Russell, but renamed Nichollssaura borealis in 2009 because the original name was already taken.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure exactly where Nichollssaura collected its stomach stones, but they think it may have swum westward to gather rocks from the Cadomin Formation, which is 8 to 10 million years older than the plesiosaur itself.1