恐龍卡第 1451 張，共 2 027 張

Plesiosaurus

名字的意思： “near reptile”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類三疊紀晚期到白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Plesiosaurus was a marine reptile that swam in the oceans while dinosaurs lived on land. It had a long neck, a small head, and four flipper-like limbs to push through the water. It was about 3.5 metres long and ate small prey like fish and crustaceans.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

206 到 66 百萬年前5

三疊紀晚期到白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Fossils have been found in the United Kingdom, especially along the Jurassic Coast, and also in France, the USA, Belgium, New Zealand, and South Africa.1 2

長度

3.5 m (11 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 29 公里（18 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 4 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 19 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 6.2 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Plesiosaurus 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)

Plesiosaurus 時速約 29 公里 (18 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

Plesiosaurus was named in 1821 by William Conybeare and Henry Thomas De la Beche, and the name means 'near reptile'.1

Mary Anning discovered an almost complete Plesiosaurus skeleton in 1823, which helped scientists understand what these animals looked like.1

Plesiosaurs swam with four flipper-like limbs, and experiments with robot flippers showed they could generate 60% more thrust from their back flipper by timing both limbs carefully.1

Plesiosaurs were unable to return to land, so they likely gave birth to live young in the open water, as supported by a preserved foetus in a related species.1

Plesiosaurs survived for more than 140 million years, making it through multiple extinctions that wiped out other groups.1

Some plesiosaurs swallowed stones that stayed in their stomachs, possibly to help break up food or to help with buoyancy.1

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

?Is Plesiosaurus a dinosaur?

No, it is a marine reptile that lived in the oceans while dinosaurs lived on land. It is only distantly related to dinosaurs.1

?How big was Plesiosaurus?

It was about 3.5 metres (11 feet) long.3 1

?What did Plesiosaurus eat?

It ate small prey like fish and crustaceans.1

?When did Plesiosaurus live?

It lived during the Early Jurassic, about 203 to 174 million years ago.3

?Who discovered Plesiosaurus?

Mary Anning discovered the first complete skeleton in 1823 near Lyme Regis, England.3 1

?Did Plesiosaurus have live babies?

Yes, it gave birth to live young in the water. A fossil of a related species shows a single large baby inside its mother.1 4

?Could Plesiosaurus go on land?

No, it was fully adapted to life in the water and could not return to land.1

迷思破解王

迷思： Plesiosaurs are often thought to be dinosaurs, especially because they lived at the same time.

真相： Plesiosaurs are marine reptiles and are only distantly related to dinosaurs, which lived on land.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Plesiosaurus
命名者: de la Beche and Conybeare 18215
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Plesiosauroidea5
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia5
岩石的年代: 206 到 66 百萬年 (Rhaetian / Maastrichtian)5
岩層: Kimmeridge Clay, Charmouth Mudstone, Westbury5
國家: 英國, 法國, 美國, 比利時, 紐西蘭, 南非5
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 55 筆5
發現: Plesiosaurus was named in 1821 by William Conybeare and Henry Thomas De la Beche, and Mary Anning discovered an almost complete skeleton in 1823.1
仍有爭議: Scientists still debate how plesiosaurs used their four flippers to swim, and whether the stones they swallowed helped with digestion or buoyancy.1