Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum had a neck as long as a school bus. ©Júlia d’Oliveira
Reporter: Hari Ariyanti
Merdeka.com – This plant-eating sauropod dinosaur had a neck that was 3 meters longer than a school bus or the longest of any dinosaur. Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum has a neck with a length of 15.1 meters and allows it to stand in one place and directly eat the vegetation around it.
This fossil of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum was discovered in 1987 in Xinjiang, China and was first described in a scientific journal in 1993. This dinosaur got its name from the joint team of Chinese and Canadians who excavated the fossil.
In a new analysis published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology on Wednesday, paleontologists used computerized topographical scans, not available three decades ago, to compare this species to other sauropods discovered in recent years.
Research team leader Andrew Moore said the Mamenchisaurids were the first lineage of sauropods to push their necks as long as possible.
“With a neck that was 15 meters long, it looks like Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum might be the record holder – at least until something longer is found,” said Moore, a paleontologist and assistant professor at New York’s Stony Brook University. .
Paleontologists can infer neck length by studying three preserved specimen vertebrae and comparing them to the neck bones of closely related dinosaurs.
Previously the longest neck documented by scientists was that of the Xinjiangtitan dinosaur, which had a neck 1.5 meters shorter than that of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum.
This new research also reveals surprising details about this dinosaur. the bones of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum were filled with air, not marrow, which is characteristic of most mammalian bones. CT scans showed that the volume of this dinosaur’s spine consisted of 69 percent to 79 percent air.
“Assuming, that’s an important mechanism to form a very long neck because it would be quite heavy,” said Moore.
Moore said biomechanical studies showed the Mamenchisaurid neck was elevated at an angle of about 20 to 30 degrees above the horizontal.
However, even at this relatively shallow angle, the extreme neck length still means the animal’s head can reach a height of about 7.5 meters to 10 meters above the ground.
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This new research also reveals surprising details about this dinosaur. the bones of Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum were filled with air, not marrow, which is characteristic of most mammalian bones. CT scans showed that the volume of this dinosaur’s spine consisted of 69 percent to 79 percent air.
“Assuming, that’s an important mechanism to form a very long neck because it would be quite heavy,” said Moore.
Moore said biomechanical studies showed the Mamenchisaurid neck was elevated at an angle of about 20 to 30 degrees above the horizontal.
However, even at this relatively shallow angle, the extreme neck length still means the animal’s head can reach a height of about 7.5 meters to 10 meters above the ground.
Also read:
Dinosaur ‘mummies’ found in almost intact condition, skin still visible
Why did the T-Rex have tiny arms despite its gigantic body? Here’s the Expert Says
Fossil Finds in the Gobi Desert Reveal What Dinosaurs Sounded Like
Researchers Find Dinosaur Legs Crashed By Asteroids 66 Million Years Ago
The Ancestor of Coffee & Potato Trees Turns Out to be Stronger to Survive than Dinosaurs
Researchers Accidentally Discover a New Species of Dinosaurs with 400 Teeth
Four New Dinosaur Species Found in Chile, Have Claws and Can Fly
(mdk/sir)
