Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum lived 162 million year ago (Late Jurassic epoch) in what is now China.
Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum is a very large dinosaur in the sauropod family Mamenchisauridae.
It was first described in 1993 from fossils found in the upper part of the Shishugou Formation in the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China.
At approximately 15.1 m (49.5 feet), its neck was more than six times longer than the necks of giraffes, the longest-necked animals alive today.
“The question of which sauropod had the longest neck is not straightforward,” said Stony Brook University paleontologist Andrew Moore and his colleagues.
“Because of their size, the largest sauropods tend to be some of the most poorly known: it’s very hard to bury such a large animal in sediment and thus safeguard it for fossilization.”
“Some fragmentary fossils suggest that other sauropod lineages independently evolved necks over 10 m (32.8 feet) in length.”
“However, poor preservation of these specimens and their closest relatives makes estimates of their neck length speculative.”
Although Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum is known only from a handful of bones from the neck and skull, the authors were able to reconstruct its evolutionary relationships and thus make comparisons to the unusually complete skeletons of its closest relatives.
“All sauropods were big, but jaw-droppingly long necks didn’t evolve just once,” Dr. Moore said.
“Mamenchisaurids are important because they pushed the limits on how long a neck can be, and were the first lineage of sauropods to do so.”
“With a 15-m-long neck, it looks like Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum might be a record-holder — at least until something longer is discovered.”
How sauropods managed to evolve such long necks and hulking bodies without collapsing under their own weight remains something of a biomechanical puzzle.
Remarkable specimens like Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum provide some clues.
Using computed-tomography…
Read the full article here