恐龍卡第 1475 張，共 2 027 張

Prognathodon

名字的意思： “forejaw tooth”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

Prognathodon was a giant marine lizard that lived in the oceans at the same time as the dinosaurs. It had a huge, powerful skull and strong teeth that could crush the shells of sea turtles. This mosasaur was an apex predator, meaning it was at the top of the food chain.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

100 到 62 百萬年前2

白堊紀晚期到新生代，哺乳動物時代

化石發現地

Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada (Alberta), United States (Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas), Morocco, New Zealand, and many other places2

長度

12 m (39 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 31 公里（19 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 2.5 台汽車排成一排一樣長跟 67 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 5.8 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Prognathodon 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)

Prognathodon 時速約 31 公里 (19 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

The name Prognathodon means 'forejaw tooth' because its front teeth were especially big and strong.1

One fossil of Prognathodon saturator, nicknamed 'Bèr', was found in a limestone quarry in the Netherlands and is about 12 metres long.1

Prognathodon had teeth with fine, wavy ridges near the tip that helped strengthen them for crushing hard prey like sea turtles.1

Gut contents from a Canadian specimen show that Prognathodon ate a very large fish (1.6 metres long), a smaller fish, a sea turtle, and possibly a squid-like cephalopod.1

Unlike many other mosasaurs, Prognathodon had blunt, rounded tooth tips instead of sharp cutting edges, suggesting it was a crusher of hard-shelled animals.1

The pterygoid teeth on the roof of its mouth were unusually large and showed no wear, so scientists think they were used to grip prey before swallowing it whole.1

Prognathodon fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica, showing it lived in warm seas worldwide.2

Scientists still argue about which species belong in Prognathodon, because many fossils are incomplete and look different from each other.1

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

?Was Prognathodon a dinosaur?

No, Prognathodon was a marine lizard, not a dinosaur. It belonged to the mosasaur family, which lived in the oceans at the same time as the dinosaurs.1

?How big was Prognathodon?

Prognathodon was one of the largest mosasaurs. Different species reached different sizes: P. giganteus was about 10 metres (33 feet) long, P. currii about 11 metres (36 feet), and P. saturator about 12 metres (39 feet).1

?What did Prognathodon eat?

Prognathodon was an apex predator that ate hard-shelled prey like sea turtles, as well as large fish and possibly squid. Gut contents from one fossil included a 1.6 metre long fish, a smaller fish, a sea turtle, and a possible cephalopod.1

?Could Prognathodon crush shells?

Yes, Prognathodon had massively built jaws and blunt, rounded teeth with wavy ridges that helped it crush hard prey like sea turtle shells. Its bite was stronger than any other mosasaur.1

?Where was Prognathodon found?

Prognathodon fossils have been found in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and New Zealand. One famous specimen nicknamed 'Bèr' was discovered in a limestone quarry in the Netherlands.1

?When did Prognathodon live?

Prognathodon lived during the Late Cretaceous period, from about 84 to 66 million years ago. It went extinct at the same time as the non-avian dinosaurs.1

迷思破解王

迷思： Some people think Prognathodon was a dinosaur.

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

給恐龍專家

學名: Prognathodon
命名者: Dollo 18892
類群: 滄龍類
科 / 演化支: Mosasauridae2
分類: Mosasauroidea2
岩石的年代: 100 到 62 百萬年 (Cenomanian / Danian)2
岩層: Bearpaw Shale, Torme, Gulpen2
國家: 美國, 摩洛哥, 西班牙, 瑞典, 法國, 比利時2
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 94 筆2
發現: Prognathodon was first named by Belgian paleontologist Louis Dollo in 1889, based on fossils found in Belgium. There was some confusion because Dollo first called it 'Prognathodon' but later used the name 'Prognathosaurus' in his papers.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating which species truly belong to Prognathodon, because many fossils are incomplete and show different features.1