恐龍卡第 1728 張，共 2 027 張

Sulcusuchus

名字的意思： “trough crocodile”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Sulcusuchus was a marine reptile that lived in the seas of ancient Argentina. It had deep grooves in its snout and jaw that might have helped it sense food hiding in the mud, like a dolphin does.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

84 到 66 百萬年前3

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Patagonia, Argentina (La Colonia and Los Alamitos formations)3 1

最高速度

時速約 27 公里（17 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)

Sulcusuchus 時速約 27 公里 (17 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

Sulcusuchus was first thought to be a crocodile, but scientists later realized it was a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile.1

Its name means 'trough crocodile' because of the deep, groove-like channels on its jaw bones.1

The grooves on its snout and jaw may have held special organs that could detect electricity or movement, helping it find prey in murky water.2

One fossil of Sulcusuchus contained 95 gastroliths, or stomach stones, which may have helped it digest food or control its buoyancy.1

Sulcusuchus lived during the very end of the Age of Dinosaurs, about 69 to 66 million years ago.1

It is the only polycotylid plesiosaur from the Southern Hemisphere whose skull and lower jaw are known.2

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

?Was Sulcusuchus a dinosaur?

No, Sulcusuchus was a plesiosaur, a type of marine reptile, not a dinosaur. It lived in the seas of ancient Argentina.1 3

?How big was Sulcusuchus?

Scientists don't know its full size, but one fossil jaw fragment is about half a meter long. That suggests the whole animal was several meters long, but no exact estimate is given.1

?What did Sulcusuchus eat?

It was a carnivore, likely eating fish and other small sea animals. The grooves in its snout may have helped it sense prey hiding in the mud, like a dolphin.1 2

迷思破解王

迷思： Some people think Sulcusuchus was a dinosaur.

真相： Sulcusuchus was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the ocean, not a dinosaur.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Sulcusuchus
命名者: Gasparini and Spalletti 19903
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Polycotylidae3
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia3
岩石的年代: 84 到 66 百萬年 (Campanian / Maastrichtian)3
岩層: La Colonia, Los Alamitos3
國家: 阿根廷3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 6 筆3
發現: Sulcusuchus was named in 1990 by Zulma Gasparini and Luis Spalletti. The first fossil was a piece of lower jaw found in the Coli Toro Formation of Argentina.1 3
仍有爭議: Scientists are not sure what the deep grooves in its snout and jaw were for. They might have held glands or electro-sensing organs, but no one knows for sure.2