恐龍卡第 1759 張，共 2 027 張

Tatenectes

名字的意思： “Tate diver, honoring Marion and Inez Tate who founded the Tate Museum in Casper, Wyoming”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類侏羅紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Tatenectes was a small plesiosaur that lived in a shallow sea that covered much of North America during the Jurassic Period. It had a flattened, boxy body and a long neck, and it swam using four flippers like paddles.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

162 到 155 百萬年前3

侏羅紀晚期

化石發現地

Wyoming, USA, in the Redwater Shale Member of the Sundance Formation1 3

長度

2 到 3 m (6.6 到 9.8 ft)1

最高速度

時速約 28 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

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

跟 3 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 17 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長能在 6.4 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Tatenectes 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)

Tatenectes 時速約 28 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

Tatenectes had a very unusual body shape for a plesiosaur: its torso was flattened and boxy, and its belly ribs were thickened, which helped it stay stable in turbulent water.1

The first fossil of Tatenectes was described in 1900 by Wilbur Clinton Knight, who thought it was a species of Cimoliosaurus. That original specimen has since been lost.1

Tatenectes lived in the Sundance Sea, a shallow inland sea that was less than 40 meters (130 feet) deep and covered parts of western North America during the Jurassic.1

Its teeth were small and thin, with long roots and low enamel ridges, perfect for catching slippery prey like fish and squid.1

Tatenectes shared its sea home with other marine reptiles, including the plesiosaur Pantosaurus and the large pliosaur Megalneusaurus.1

Scientists think Tatenectes could have used lung deflation to help it dive, just like some modern sea turtles do.1

Tatenectes 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Tatenectes 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。

給恐龍專家

學名: Tatenectes
命名者: O'Keefe and Wahl 20033
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Cryptoclididae3
分類: Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia3
岩石的年代: 162 到 155 百萬年 (Oxfordian)3
岩層: Sundance3
國家: 美國3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 3 筆3
發現: The first fossil was described by Wilbur Clinton Knight in 1900 as a new species of Cimoliosaurus. In 2003, F. Robin O'Keefe and William Wahl Jr. gave it its own genus, Tatenectes, based on a new specimen found in Wyoming.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating whether the gastroliths (stomach stones) found in plesiosaurs like Tatenectes were used for ballast, digestion, or something else.1