恐龍卡第 1542 張，共 2 027 張

Rhaeticosaurus

名字的意思： “Rhaetian lizard”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類三疊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Rhaeticosaurus was a small, early plesiosaur that swam in the seas of the Late Triassic. It had four flippers shaped like wings and a long neck, and it used its flippers to fly through the water. This marine reptile is one of the oldest plesiosaurs ever found.2

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 201 百萬年前4

三疊紀晚期

化石發現地

Bonenburg clay pit in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany2 1

長度

2.37 m (7.8 ft)2

最高速度

時速約 26 公里（16 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 5 隻家貓從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 13 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 6.9 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Rhaeticosaurus 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)

Rhaeticosaurus 時速約 26 公里 (16 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

Rhaeticosaurus is the first plesiosaur skeleton ever found from the Triassic period, showing that plesiosaurs were already around before the Jurassic.2

Its name means 'Rhaetian lizard' because it lived during the Rhaetian age, the last stage of the Triassic.1

Rhaeticosaurus had very short lower arm and leg bones compared to its upper limb bones, with a humerus-to-radius ratio of 3.8 and a femur-to-tibia ratio of 4.3.2

The holotype skeleton was discovered in 2013 by Michael Mertens, a private collector who reported it to authorities.1

Rhaeticosaurus was a basal member of the Pliosauridae, a group of plesiosaurs with large heads and short necks.2

Its teeth had sharp ridges on the enamel, a feature that helped scientists identify it as a plesiosaur.2

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

?How big was Rhaeticosaurus?

Rhaeticosaurus grew up to about 2.37 metres (7.8 feet) long when fully grown, based on the holotype skeleton.1 2

?Was Rhaeticosaurus a dinosaur?

No, Rhaeticosaurus was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile, not a dinosaur. It lived in the sea and used its four flippers to swim.1 2

?When did Rhaeticosaurus live?

Rhaeticosaurus lived during the Rhaetian age of the Late Triassic, about 208 to 201 million years ago. It is one of the oldest plesiosaurs ever found.1 2

給恐龍專家

學名: Rhaeticosaurus
命名者: Wintrich et al. 20174
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Plesiosauria4
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia4
岩石的年代: 206 到 201 百萬年 (Rhaetian)4
岩層: Exter4
國家: 德國4
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆4
發現: Rhaeticosaurus was named in 2017 by Wintrich and colleagues based on a partial skeleton found in 2013 in a clay pit in Germany. The fossil was discovered by Michael Mertens and later prepared for study.1 3
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating exactly how many neck vertebrae Rhaeticosaurus had, but they estimate at least 37.2