恐龍卡第 1884 張，共 2 027 張

Vegasaurus

名字的意思： “Vega lizard”1

吃：肉蛇頸龍類白堊紀晚期嚴格來說不是恐龍

Vegasaurus was a long-necked marine reptile that swam in the cold seas near Antarctica about 72 million years ago. It was not a dinosaur, but a plesiosaur, and it used its four flippers to paddle through the water. This ancient creature is one of the few Late Cretaceous plesiosaurs from the Southern Hemisphere whose skeleton is well known.2 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

72 到 66 百萬年前3

白堊紀晚期

化石發現地

Vega Island, Antarctica2 1

長度

6.15 到 6.5 m (20 到 21 ft)1

體重

839 kg (1,800 lb)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

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多重？

跟 42 隻狗一樣重

跟 6 隻狗從鼻子接到尾巴一樣長跟 36 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長跟 170 顆西瓜一樣重跟 44 個幼兒園小朋友一樣重跟 26 個小學生一樣重能在 6.7 秒內游完一座大泳池（50 公尺）

Vegasaurus 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)

Vegasaurus 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

Vegasaurus had 54 neck vertebrae, which is more than most other plesiosaurs.1

The only known fossil of Vegasaurus was found in 1989 by a team of scientists on Vega Island, Antarctica.1

This plesiosaur had gastroliths, or stomach stones, which may have helped it digest food or control its buoyancy.1

Vegasaurus is named after Vega Island, where it was discovered, and the Greek word for lizard, 'sauros'.1

Its humerus (upper arm bone) had a forward-facing knee and a backward projection with an extra joint surface, a feature only shared with a few other plesiosaurs.1

Vegasaurus is closely related to other plesiosaurs from the Weddell Sea region, like Aristonectes and Kaiwhekea.2 1

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

?How big was Vegasaurus?

About 6.15 to 6.5 metres long and weighed around 839 kilograms.1

?What did Vegasaurus eat?

Scientists are not sure exactly what it ate, but it had gastroliths (stomach stones) that may have helped grind up food like fish or squid.1

?Where was Vegasaurus found?

Its only fossil was found on Vega Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, in 1989.1

給恐龍專家

學名: Vegasaurus
命名者: O'Gorman et al. 20153
類群: 蛇頸龍類
科 / 演化支: Elasmosauridae3
分類: Plesiosauria > Elasmosauridae > Sauropterygia3
岩石的年代: 72 到 66 百萬年 (Maastrichtian)3
岩層: Snow Hill Island3
國家: 南極洲3
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆3
發現: Vegasaurus was named in 2015 by José P. O'Gorman and colleagues. The only fossil was found in 1989 on Vega Island, Antarctica, and was collected during three Antarctic summer expeditions in 1993, 1999, and 2005.1
仍有爭議: Scientists are still debating exactly how Vegasaurus is related to other plesiosaurs, especially the aristonectines.2 1