恐龍卡第 1313 張，共 2 027 張

Opallionectes

名字的意思： “opal swimmer from Andamooka”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀早期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Opallionectes was a plesiosaur, a long-necked marine reptile that swam in the seas near Australia. It had needle-sharp teeth and ate fish and squid. Its bones were turned into opal, a shiny gemstone!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

120 到 113 百萬年前3

白堊紀早期

化石發現地

Lunatic Hill opal field, Andamooka, South Australia1 2

長度

5 m (16 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 5 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 28 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）

Opallionectes 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)

Opallionectes 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

Opallionectes lived about 115 million years ago in a cold, possibly freezing sea.1

Its skeleton was found in an opal mine and parts of it turned into opal, a precious gemstone.1

It had fine, needle-like teeth that were flattened side to side, similar to ancient nothosaurs.1

Opallionectes is considered a missing link between older plesiosaurs from 165 million years ago and those from 66 million years ago.1

Scientists think it might have migrated to warmer waters or had a high metabolism to survive the cold.1

Opallionectes 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Opallionectes 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: Opallionectes
命名者: Kear 20063
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Plesiosauroidea3
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia3
岩石的年代: 120 到 113 百萬年 (Aptian)3
岩層: Bulldog Shale3
國家: 澳洲3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆3
發現: The species Opallionectes andamookaensis was named by Benjamin P. Kear in 2006, based on a partial opalized skeleton found in an opal mine at Andamooka, South Australia.1 3
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure exactly how Opallionectes adapted to the cold waters it lived in, whether by migrating or by having a higher body temperature.1