恐龍卡第 1489 張，共 2 027 張

Protoichthyosaurus

名字的意思： “first fish lizard”1

吃：肉魚龍類侏羅紀早期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Protoichthyosaurus was an ancient marine reptile that looked like a dolphin with a long snout and flippers. It swam in the warm, shallow seas that covered parts of England during the Early Jurassic, about 200 million years ago.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

201 到 184 百萬年前4

侏羅紀早期

化石發現地

England (Dorset, Somerset, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Glamorgan in Wales) and possibly Switzerland1

長度

2 到 4 m (6.6 到 13 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 48 公里（30 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 22 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 3.8 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Protoichthyosaurus 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)

Protoichthyosaurus 時速約 48 公里 (30 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

Protoichthyosaurus was first named in 1979 by Robert M. Appleby, but for a while scientists thought it was just a type of Ichthyosaurus. In 2017, a new study showed it was a separate genus.1

There are two species: P. prostaxalis, which could reach up to 4 metres long, and the smaller P. applebyi, which was at most 2 metres long.1

Its flippers had a special arrangement of wrist bones that helped scientists tell it apart from other ichthyosaurs.1

Protoichthyosaurus had a large, triangular bone in its upper jaw (the maxilla) that stuck out farther than its nasal bones, a unique feature.1

Many of the fossils come from the Charles Moore collection, which sometimes mixed bones from different animals together, making it tricky for scientists.1

Its teeth had deep grooves running down to the roots, and they were firmly anchored in the jaw.1

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

?Was Protoichthyosaurus a dinosaur?

No, it was an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea. Ichthyosaurs are not dinosaurs.1

?How big was Protoichthyosaurus?

It was medium sized. P. prostaxalis reached up to 4 metres (13 ft) long, while P. applebyi was smaller, at most 2 metres (6.6 ft).1

?What did Protoichthyosaurus eat?

Its teeth had deep grooves and were firmly rooted, which suggests it ate fish and other small sea animals, but the sources do not give a specific diet.1

?Where did Protoichthyosaurus live?

It lived in the Early Jurassic seas of southern England and possibly Switzerland. Fossils have been found in Somerset, Dorset, and other parts of the UK.1 3

迷思破解王

迷思： Protoichthyosaurus is a dinosaur.

真相： It is not a dinosaur. It is an ichthyosaur, a group of marine reptiles that lived in the sea at the same time as dinosaurs.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Protoichthyosaurus
命名者: Appleby 19794
類群: 魚龍類
科 / 演化支: Ichthyosauridae4
分類: Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha4
岩石的年代: 201 到 184 百萬年 (Hettangian / Pliensbachian)4
岩層: Blue Lias4
國家: 英國4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 2 筆4
發現: Robert M. Appleby named Protoichthyosaurus in 1979 based on fossils from Street, Somerset, England. The main specimen (BRLSI M3553) is a partial skeleton.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure if a third species, P. fortimanus, is really a separate species or just another name for one of the other two.1