恐龍卡第 1453 張，共 2 027 張

Plioplatecarpus

名字的意思： “more flat wrist”1

吃：肉滄龍類白堊紀晚期到新生代，哺乳動物時代嚴格來說不是恐龍

Plioplatecarpus was a medium-sized mosasaur, a giant marine lizard that lived in the late Cretaceous seas. It had big eyes and fewer, sharply curved teeth than other mosasaurs, perfect for grabbing small, slippery prey. Fossils of this ocean hunter have been found all over the world, from North America to Europe and even Antarctica.1 4

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

100 到 62 百萬年前4

白堊紀晚期到新生代，哺乳動物時代

化石發現地

North America (Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Canada), Europe (Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Russia), Africa (Congo-Kinshasa, Niger), and Antarctica1 4

長度

5 到 6 m (16 到 20 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 38 公里（24 英里）

游泳, 估計值

牠生活在什麼時候？

恐龍出現之前

恐龍時代

哺乳動物時代

4 億年前25266現在

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 6 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 33 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 4.7 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Plioplatecarpus 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)

Plioplatecarpus 時速約 38 公里 (24 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

Plioplatecarpus had bigger eyes than most other mosasaurs, which may have helped it see in dark, deep water.1

Its teeth were fewer but strongly curved backward, so it could grab small prey very precisely.1

Some scientists think Plioplatecarpus could swim into rivers and estuaries, not just the open ocean.1

Plioplatecarpus used its front flippers for underwater flight, like a bird flaps its wings, to move through weedy or coral reef areas.2

The first Plioplatecarpus fossil was found in Belgium and named by Louis Dollo in 1882.1

Plioplatecarpus lived about 82 to 66 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous period.1

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

?How big was Plioplatecarpus?

About 5.5 to 6 metres long, depending on the species.1

?What did Plioplatecarpus eat?

It ate small, slippery prey like fish and squid, grabbing them with its sharply curved teeth.1 3

?Could Plioplatecarpus swim in freshwater?

Some scientists think it could, because a fossil was found in a non-marine deposit, suggesting it entered rivers and estuaries.1

?When did Plioplatecarpus live?

It lived in the late Cretaceous period, about 82 to 68 million years ago.1

迷思破解王

迷思： Plioplatecarpus was a dinosaur.

真相： Plioplatecarpus was a mosasaur, a type of marine lizard that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Plioplatecarpus
命名者: Dollo 18824
類群: 滄龍類
科 / 演化支: Mosasauridae4
分類: Mosasauroidea4
岩石的年代: 100 到 62 百萬年 (Cenomanian / Danian)4
岩層: Bearpaw Shale, Pierre Shale, Fox Hills4
國家: 美國, 加拿大, 南極洲, 瑞典, 丹麥, 俄羅斯4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 28 筆4
發現: The first Plioplatecarpus fossil was found in Belgium and named by paleontologist Louis Dollo in 1882. Later, fossils from North America that were first called Mosasaurus were reclassified as Plioplatecarpus.1
仍有爭議: Scientists still debate whether some North American Plioplatecarpus fossils belong to separate species or are just variations of the same species found in Europe.2