恐龍卡第 1353 張，共 2 027 張

Paludidraco

名字的意思： “marshy dragon”1

吃：植物海生爬蟲類三疊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Paludidraco was a strange marine reptile that lived in shallow seas over 200 million years ago. It had a very heavy, dense skeleton that helped it stay underwater without swimming much, like a manatee. Its jaws were weak and filled with many tiny teeth, so it probably sucked up soft plants or small animals from the seafloor.2

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

237 到 206 百萬年前4

三疊紀晚期

化石發現地

El Atance site, Sigüenza, Guadalajara, Central Spain4 1

長度

2.5 m (8.2 ft)3

最高速度

時速約 21 公里（13 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 2.5 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 14 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 8.6 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Paludidraco 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)

Paludidraco 時速約 21 公里 (13 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

Paludidraco had an extremely heavy, pachyostotic skeleton, meaning its bones were very thick and dense. This helped it float at shallow depths without using much energy, just like modern manatees.2

Its jaws were very slender and weak, and its teeth were small, curved, and set in a groove (pleurodont implantation). This is very different from most other marine reptiles of its time.1

Paludidraco had more than 15 teeth in its premaxilla (the front part of the upper jaw), which is a unique feature among its family, Simosauridae.1

Scientists think Paludidraco was not an active predator. Its weak jaws could not catch struggling prey, and its heavy body made it slow and not very maneuverable.1

The name Paludidraco comes from Latin words meaning 'marshy dragon', because its fossils were found near a reservoir called El Atance in Spain.1

Paludidraco lived during the Late Triassic period, about 237 to 205 million years ago, in what is now central Spain.4

Paludidraco 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Paludidraco 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: Paludidraco
命名者: de Miguel Chaves et al. 20184
類群: 海生爬蟲類
科 / 演化支: Simosauridae4
分類: Nothosauria > Sauropterygia4
岩石的年代: 237 到 206 百萬年 (Carnian / Norian)4
岩層: Keuper4
國家: 西班牙4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆4
發現: Paludidraco multidentatus was named in 2018 by scientists de Miguel Chaves, Ortega, and Pérez-García. They described it from two well-preserved skeletons found at the El Atance site in central Spain.4 1
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure whether Paludidraco was a true filter feeder like some whales, or if it used its comb-like teeth to scrape soft plants from the seafloor. Its skull lacks some features seen in modern filter feeders.1