恐龍卡第 1450 張，共 2 027 張

Plesiopterys

名字的意思： “near wing”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類侏羅紀早期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Plesiopterys was a small, long-necked marine reptile that swam in the warm seas of Early Jurassic Germany. It had flippers like paddles and a mouth full of sharp teeth for catching fish and squid.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

184 到 183 百萬年前3

侏羅紀早期

化石發現地

Posidonienschiefer near Holzmaden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany1 3

長度

2.2 到 3 m (7.2 到 9.8 ft)1 2

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 3 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 17 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）

Plesiopterys 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)

Plesiopterys 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

Plesiopterys had 39 neck vertebrae, giving it a long, flexible neck.2

One fossil of Plesiopterys preserves traces of scaly skin on its front flipper and smooth skin on its tail.1

The tail skin of that fossil also contains dark-colored melanosomes, which are pigment cells that may have given the animal a dark color.1

Plesiopterys is one of the most primitive plesiosaurs known, meaning it had many features from earlier ancestors.2

Its skull was small compared to its neck, only about 17 percent of the neck length.2

The name Plesiopterys also refers to the pterygoid bones in the roof of its mouth, which are important for identifying the species.1

Plesiopterys 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Plesiopterys 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: Plesiopterys
命名者: O'Keefe 20043
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Plesiosauroidea3
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia3
岩石的年代: 184 到 183 百萬年 (Toarcian)3
岩層: Posidonienschiefer3
國家: 德國3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆3
發現: Plesiopterys was named in 2004 by paleontologist F. Robin O'Keefe, based on a skeleton found in the 19th century near Holzmaden, Germany. The species name P. wildi honors German paleontologist Rupert Wild.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists debate whether Plesiopterys is a separate species or the same as another plesiosaur called Seeleyosaurus guilelmiimperatoris.1